Great decision by the United Arab Emirates government to offer visa-free entry for the Ukrainians (“UAE announces visa-free entry for Ukrainians,” March 4, Gulf Today website).

The Foreign Ministry of the UAE announced on Thursday that Ukrainian citizens would continue to have visa-free entry into the country.

The UAE is also now offering Ukrainians who arrived before March 3, 2022 the facility to stay in the country for up to a year without being subject to fines. Those arriving after March 3 will have visa-free entry for 30 days, as was the policy previously.

“The UAE also provides critical services to Ukrainian nationals in the UAE who require assistance, in coordination with the Embassy of Ukraine in the UAE,” the UAE’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday also announced it would send Dhs18 million ($4.9 million) in humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

It’s a great initiative taken by the United Arab Emirates government for Ukrainian people who are going through their toughest time as the Russian operations in Ukraine are still going on.

It’s now more than a week of war, and there is an urgent need for peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine for the sake of vulnerable people who are the real victims of the war zone.

Heavy human casualties have been reported from Ukraine because of the war. People have lost their homes, deadly Russian attacks brought destruction in the country. The war is not a solution to any dispute, negotiations are the only way forward so I hope the sense of peace will prevail and the fruitful negotiations will start soon.

Qaim Khan,
By email