KYIV, Ukraine — Another four Greek expatriates in the village of Bugas close to Mariupol died, rising the death toll to 10.

10 innocent civilians of Greek origin killed today by Russian air strikes close to Mariupol. Stop the bombing now!

— Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) February 26, 2022

Εarlier, the Greek Foreign Affairs Ministry expressed its grief for the death of another four Greek expatriates in the village of Bugas, nearly 70km north of Mariupol in the Ukraine.

It also expressed its sincere condolences to their relatives and unequivocally condemned the continuing attacks against civilians.

Earlier today, two ethnic Greeks were killed and another six were injured during the bloody clashes in the Sartan region of Ukraine.

Greece expressed its abhorrence and unequivocally condemned the bombardment of civilians by a Russian aircraft in the region of the Sartana village in Ukraine earlier in the day, killing two Greek expatriates and injuring another six including a child, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said on Saturday.

Ως ένας Ομογενής, Ελληνας του Κόσμου, θρηνώ για τον θάνατο και τραυματισμό των Ομογενών μας στην #Ουκρανία. Ο Θεός να τους αναπαύσει. https://t.co/V2iXpDSCJO

— Αντώνης Η. Διαματάρης (@AHDiamataris) February 26, 2022

It was also announced that Foreign Ministry Secretary General Themistocles Demiris conveyed by phone a strong protest to the Russian ambassador in Athens, and summoned him to the ministry on Sunday. The protest was made following the order of Foreign Affairs Minister Nikos Dendias.

Dendias had raised the issue of the protection of the Greek community in Ukraine, during a recent meeting with his Russian counterpart.

In his own message on Twitter, the minister expressed grief and abhorrence for the attacks on civilians.

Eκφράζουμε την οδύνη μας για τον θάνατο δύο ομογενών, καθώς και τον τραυματισμό άλλων έξι, μεταξύ των οποίων και ενός παιδιού στα περίχωρα του χωριού Σαρτανά της Ουκρανίας, όπως και τον αποτροπιασμό μας για τον βομβαρδισμό αμάχων από ρωσικό αεροσκάφος. https://t.co/o9C71U3Nt2

— Nikos Dendias (@NikosDendias) February 26, 2022

Similar messages were issued by Alternate Foreign Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis – who also said that “Russia ought to understand even at this point that this war will only have losers, particularly innocent victims” – and Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Katsaniotis.
Russian troops pressed toward Ukraine’s capital Saturday after a night of explosions and street fighting sent Kyiv residents seeking shelter underground. The country’s leader refused an American offer to evacuate, insisting he would stay.

Ο θάνατος ομογενών μας, προκαλεί θλίψη και οργή για αυτή την απαράδεκτη πράξη ρωσικής επίθεσης σε αμάχους. Συλλυπητήρια στους οικείους τους. Το Ελληνικό Προξενείο στη Μαριούπολη παραμένει ανοιχτό για την παροχή βοήθειας.

— Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) February 26, 2022

Russian Embassy in Athens responds over Greek expatriate fatalities in Ukraine

The Russian Embassy in Athens expressed its deep grief over the death and injury of Greek community members in the region of Donbas on Saturday, adding that “Russia’s special military operations in Ukraine only target military units and infrastructure exclusively.”

“We do not bomb inhabited areas and villages, nor any political or social infrastructure. The Russian Air and Space Forces were not operating in the region of the Sartana village today,” it said in a statement. It added, “the Ukrainian army and nationalist neo-Nazi orders have been known for years to attack civilians, even with heavy weapons. This is proven and officially documented.”

The embassy warned that “the Kiev regime is possibly using the Greek and other ethnic minorities living in Ukraine to provoke and inflame the anti-Russian reaction abroad.”