Lithuania has begun evacuating its most vulnerable citizens from the United Arab Emirates and nearby countries as tensions continue to rise in the Middle East, Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė said Tuesday.
“With limited opportunities to depart to safe countries, a decision has been made to begin the evacuation of the most vulnerable groups of Lithuanian citizens from the United Arab Emirates and other neighbouring states, where movement by land currently does not pose excessive threats to life,” Ruginienė said in a Facebook post.
She said the Foreign Ministry is working actively and will separately inform those who have registered and requested assistance about evacuation options.
According to the prime minister, it remains unsafe to leave Israel and Lebanon at this time.
“We urge people to follow the recommendations of local authorities and stay close to shelters,” she said. “We also call on Lithuanian citizens in the hottest spots to continue following the Foreign Ministry’s recommendations and, if necessary, contact the emergency hotline.”
The Foreign Ministry estimates that about 2,000 Lithuanian citizens are in the region, including more than 1,000 in the United Arab Emirates.
The move comes after the United States and Israel carried out strikes against Iran over the weekend, prompting Iran to respond with attacks on American military bases in the region.
Twenty ‘vulnerable citizens’ in UAE
Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC), said there are about 20 vulnerable Lithuanian citizens in the United Arab Emirates.
“A decision has been made regarding the limited evacuation of our most vulnerable citizens. We are talking about those points in the region where evacuation is at all possible. This would primarily concern the United Arab Emirates, where we know there are about 20 of our citizens who are vulnerable, whether due to illness, pregnancy, age, or other factors,” Vitkauskas told reporters on Tuesday.
Evacuation efforts are complicated by limited flights, with only about half of regular services operating from the UAE and only local airlines holding flight permits.
He said the primary evacuation plan would involve organising flights from Dubai or Abu Dhabi, with land routes as a backup if travel conditions allow.
“We are also looking for opportunities to join the flights that are currently operating. It will not necessarily be direct to Vilnius, but there might be flights to Warsaw; we know that several flights are scheduled in the near future, so we will look at those possibilities and prioritise those people so they can get to the airport,” he added.
Vitkauskas did not specify when the evacuation would begin. He said evacuation from Israel and Lebanon will not be carried out at this stage due to safety concerns.
“This is too complicated at the moment. In the future, in perspective, I believe we will assess all possibilities and look for ways to help people in those countries as well,” he said.
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