As a result of a successful operation of the Defense Intelligence and the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine on December 21, 2024, some 34 people were evacuated from Syria through Lebanon - 31 citizens of Ukraine and three citizens of Syria, relatives of citizens of Ukraine with the legal right to enter the territory of our state.

The Defense Intelligence reported on Telegram that the evacuation was carried out on the instructions of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Defense Intelligence also expressed gratitude for assistance in carrying out the mission to the Lebanese side, in particular to the general manager of sports and youth institutions in Lebanon - Dr. Naji Hammoud, as well as to the Sky Up airline for their ongoing support.

The Defense Intelligence thanked the authorities of the Republic of Moldova for their assistance in carrying out the evacuation mission.

The evacuated citizens have already landed at the Chisinau airport, from where they will continue their journey home to Ukraine.

"We express gratitude to the military intelligence of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Embassy in Lebanon for the opportunity to return to Ukraine and see our relatives - for the first time in 10 years," the Defense Intelligence quotes an evacuated Ukrainian citizen.

"The important operation carried out to rescue Ukrainians from Syria is further proof that Ukraine helps its citizens - everywhere, anywhere and always. Military intelligence officers, together with colleagues from the Foreign Ministry, are doing everything possible to protect the rights of our people, to help each and every one who is in trouble," said Head of the Defense Intelligence (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov.

The GUR recalled that since August 2024, on the instructions of Zelenskyy, the GUR and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have carried out four stages of evacuation from the territory of Lebanon and saved 302 people - 217 Ukrainians and 85 citizens of other countries.