The joint task force staff the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on August 13 in Greece tackled areas of wildfires near the settlements of Ellinika and Kamatriades.
“During the day, fires were tackled on a total area of 3.2 hectares,” the press service of the State Emergency Service said.
Work is scheduled to continue on Saturday August 14.
As reported, on August 6, firefighters from the joint task force of Ukraine arrived in Greece to help fight devastating wildfires. A hundred rescuers of the State Emergency Service with the necessary equipment flew out of the Kyiv airport.
A composite detachment of 100 Ukrainian firefighters arrived in Greece on Friday, August 6, to help contain massive forest wildfires, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said.
“In pursuance of the instructions of the President of Ukraine, a combined detachment of 100 Ukrainian firefighters arrived at the Athens airport. Experienced Ukrainian firefighters will help Greece contain massive forest wildfires. Ukraine is ready to help when our friends need it,” Kuleba said on Twitter.
In Greece, north of Athens, a 38-year-old man was reportedly killed by an electric pole that fell as a result of forest fires, local media reported on Friday, citing the Health Ministry. He became the first person killed by wildfires in this country this season.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has set a task for the government to send 100 Ukrainian firefighters to Greece to help extinguish forest fires.
“I set the task to the government to assist Greece in overcoming the devastating fires in some parts of the country. On Friday, the Cabinet of Ministers is to make a decision to send 100 of our experienced firefighters with the necessary equipment to help Greece,” the head of state said on Twitter on Friday night.
A total of 184 Ukrainian citizens, including 41 children, flew from Thessaloniki to Kyiv, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
“As promised, we are returning the Ukrainians who are stuck in Greece,” Kuleba wrote on his Twitter account.
The foreign minister said that two more flights will take place soon.
“Good work of our diplomats in Greece with tour operators, Greek authorities and others involved,” Kuleba wrote.
The Greek travel company Mouzenidis Travel, headquartered in Thessaloniki, has suspended services for foreign tourists, including those from Ukraine.
In this regard, the resources of the diplomatic service were mobilized to provide assistance to Ukrainian tourists in Greece. It was reported that on June 25-26, flights should take place on the routes Thessaloniki-Kyiv, Thessaloniki-Lviv and Heraklion-Kyiv, which will be able to return to Ukraine over 500 citizens.
The Greek Ministry of Tourism has announced two important changes to the health protocols for tourists entering the country, European Truth said, citing Ekathimerini.
First, the Greek government has decided to allow travelers with a negative rapid test, and not just a PCR test, to enter the country.
Secondly, the minimum age at which children entering the country must provide documents confirming that they are not sick with coronavirus (COVID-19) has been increased. Now children under 12 years old are allowed to enter without such documents. Previously, it was allowed for children under six years old.
All these changes concern people arriving from countries for which it is allowed to travel to Greece and from Greece.
Those traveling to Greece are also given the option to show the EU vaccination certificate in digital or written form instead of a negative test result.
As of Friday, May 14, the Greek government did not make a decision on allowing Ukrainian citizens to enter the country for tourist purposes, the Ukrainian Embassy in Greece reported.
“As of May 14, 2021, the Greek government has not made a decision on the entry of Ukrainian citizens into Greece for tourist purposes!” the embassy said on its page on Friday.
The embassy informed that changes in the regime of entry of Ukrainian citizens to Greece will be immediately posted on the website and Facebook page of the Ukrainian Embassy in Greece.
As reported, in mid-April, the Greek authorities canceled the compulsory quarantine for travelers from the EU and the Schengen area. In addition, the quarantine was canceled for those entering from the UK, U.S., UAE, Serbia and Israel.
