ANKARA

Following up on conversations between the Turkish and Ukrainian first ladies, Turkiye has welcomed 159 orphans from war-torn Ukraine.

When Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan and her Ukrainian counterpart Olena Zelenska – the respective wives of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy – discussed the situation of children in orphanages in Ukraine amid the war, Zelenska asked for Turkiye's help on the issue.

Officials of the Ukrainian Embassy in Ankara told the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Family and Social Services Ministry, and Interior Ministry about the orphans’ plight.

While Turkiye is working for the evacuation of Turkish citizens in Ukraine, it also took action to get orphans in Ukraine away safely.

Through the joint efforts of the ministries, 185 people, including 26 care staffers, were evacuated from Ukraine and brought to Turkiye’s southern Antalya province via Poland.

Erdogan and Zelenska have reportedly been in close contact since early in the over month-long war.

The Russia-Ukraine war, which began on Feb. 24, has met international outrage, with the EU, US and UK, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,119 civilians have been killed in Ukraine – including 52 children –and 1,790 injured, according to UN estimates, while noting that the true figure is likely far higher.

More than 3.7 million Ukrainians have also fled to neighboring countries, including over 2 million to Poland, with millions more displaced inside Ukraine, according to the UN refugee agency.