Buses Carrying Ukrainian Evacuees from Wuhan Break Through to Novi Sanzhary. They Were Pelted with Stones

All of it ended in major clashes between local residents and National Guard servicemen and police.

Today, February 20, at about 9:40 a.m., a SkyUp airline plane on special flight PQ 7302 landed at Boryspil International Airport near Kyiv. On board were 45 Ukrainian citizens and 27 foreigners evacuated from Wuhan, China, as well as the crew and accompanying doctors.

The plane entered Ukrainian airspace at about 7:00 a.m. It was flying toward Kharkiv, which was shrouded in fog, and then began circling on the border of Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions. It later emerged that the plane was supposed to fly to Kharkiv, but due to bad weather it was redirected to Boryspil for refueling.

Clashes between local residents and police began at the entrance to the urban-type settlement of Novi Sanzhary. Locals learned that evacuees from China were being brought to their medical centre, so they came out in protest and tried to block the roadway.

According to Google Maps, the distance from Kharkiv International Airport to Novi Sanzhary is about 180–185 km, and the drive will take about 2.5–3 hours.

Sanitary and epidemiological health checks of the evacuees were carried out repeatedly: when boarding in China, during the stopover in Almaty, Kazakhstan, during refueling at Boryspil, and upon arrival in Kharkiv. And although all passengers of the Ukrainian flight from Wuhan turned out to be healthy, the protests in Novi Sanzhary did not stop.

The Interior Ministry warned that “all unlawful attempts to obstruct the placement of evacuees at this facility or to violate their quarantine regime will be stopped by the National Police and the National Guard in accordance with the requirements of the Law and the decision of the government headquarters.”

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov also arrived in Novi Sanzhary, spoke with local protesters and discussed the situation with Poltava Regional State Administration head Oleh Synehubov.

17:10, UPD: As reported by Strana, the movement of buses carrying evacuees to Novi Sanzhary has been suspended. Due to the blockade of the town by local residents, the option of relocating them to another medical facility in a different city is being considered.  

18:45, UPD: Prime Minister of Ukraine announced his departure for Novi Sanzhary, where the government’s operational headquarters will be working.

19:08, UPD: In Novi Sanzhary, National Guard servicemen cleared the road of protesters, creating an opportunity for buses carrying evacuees to pass.

19:58, UPD: The buses broke through onto the grounds of the “Novi Sanzhary” medical centre. Some of them have broken windows, and people inside are frightened.

20:55, UPD: As BBC reports, the evacuees have been housed in a sanatorium. Approaches to it are blocked along the perimeter by police, and barricades near the medical centre have been dismantled. No one among those in the buses was injured.

22:20, UPD: One of the Ukrainian evacuees posted a video on social media showing the aftermath of an attack on a bus heading to the medical centre.

Government reaction

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote a Facebook post about the arrival of the flight from Wuhan: “The weather made things difficult — we had to land it in Boryspil first. It will refuel and fly on to its destination, the airport in Kharkiv.”

Zelensky also added: “We have done everything possible and impossible to ensure that the virus does not enter Ukraine”. According to him, several citizens were not allowed on board due to elevated temperature, and everyone on the plane is in satisfactory condition.

Volodymyr Zelensky
President of Ukraine

...So there is no bacteriological danger. But there is another danger, which I would like to talk about. The danger of forgetting that we are all human and that we are all Ukrainians. Each of us. Including those who found themselves in Wuhan during the epidemic. <...> Unfortunately, not all of us can take pride in a reaction as humane as in other countries (ed.). Attempts to block highways, blockade hospitals, and keep Ukrainian citizens out of Ukraine — with this we show far from the best side of our character. Especially considering that most of the passengers are people under 30. For many of us, they are almost like children. A Ukrainian always remains a Ukrainian. A temporary stay in Wuhan or emigration to Canada does not make him a stranger to his country. <...> We will fight for every Ukrainian who finds themselves in trouble, wherever they are. To rescue, evacuate, exchange. Ukraine will not abandon its own. This will be state policy — I guarantee it. But the same must be the reaction of society — I very much hope for that.

Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Honcharuk also wrote a Facebook post about the arrival of the flight from Wuhan. He said that “the safety of every Ukrainian is the absolute priority of the president and the government”.

The prime minister also noted that the evacuation went successfully, that all passengers, crew members and accompanying persons feel satisfactory and have no symptoms of acute respiratory infections. 

Honcharuk reminded that the plane with 45 Ukrainians and 27 foreigners on board will head to Kharkiv airport after refueling, after which the evacuees will be taken to “Novi Sanzhary”.

Oleksiy Honcharuk
Prime Minister of Ukraine

We are guided by one goal — the safety of people. Therefore, the facility poses no threat to those staying there or to those around it. It has passed inspection by epidemiologists and meets all WHO requirements. I would like to remind you that not a single case of coronavirus has been registered in Ukraine. I call on citizens of Ukraine not to fall for provocations, to observe public order and safety, and to treat with understanding the situation and our citizens and foreigners who need the help of the Ukrainian state in this difficult situation.

Health Minister Zoriana Skaletska wrote on Facebook that “the evacuation of Ukrainian citizens from China is proceeding according to plan.” According to her, “passengers and crew members feel well and are preparing for transfer to the observation facility,” where they are already ready to be met.

Skaletska also added that “all citizens of Ukraine have the same right to protection from the state, wherever they may be.”

In another post, the health minister spoke about panic over the evacuation of Ukrainians from Wuhan, China.

Zoriana Skaletska
Minister of Health of Ukraine

The panic spreading in Ukrainian society over the evacuation of our citizens from China is being created artificially. I will give just one example. This morning, a fake was supposedly spread on behalf of the Ministry of Health and the Public Health Center, claiming that cases of coronavirus infection had supposedly been found in Ukraine. I have every reason to believe that such things bear the hallmarks of a planned information attack against the Ministry of Health. Therefore, I appealed to the head of the Security Service of Ukraine with a request to respond to these cases.

The day before, on February 19, in the town of Vynnyky in Lviv region, residents blocked the approaches to a hospital to prevent patients from being evacuated from there. Locals believed that evacuees from China might be brought to the patients’ beds.