You're reading: Ukrainians aboard Diamond Princess refuse to be evacuated to home country

The majority of Ukrainians on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship have refused to be evacuated, Hromadske Radio said, citing the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.

“Almost all Ukrainians aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship are not going to be evacuated to Ukraine,” the radio station said, citing Maksym Kovalenko, the director of the crisis management unit at the ministry’s Consular Service Department.

There are 25 Ukrainians on board the Diamond Princess, it said. Two of them have been hospitalized. All 25 are members of the ship’s crew.

“Their duties are determined by the contract, but their wishes are also being taken into account. Twenty-four of them have said so far that they are not going to return to Ukraine. Contact is being established with another Ukrainian,” Kovalenko said.

The embassy, the Foreign Ministry, and the Health Ministry are ready to help them if the Ukrainians change their minds, he said.

“A decision on whether to return to Ukraine will be made primarily by these citizens themselves and the vessel owner,” Kovalenko said.