Many Armenians living in Ukraine are leaving their places of residence due to the present-day situation in the country, and are mainly going to Europe. Hamlet Hovhannisyan, Assistant to the Honorary Consul of Armenia in Kharkiv, told Armenian News-NEWS.am that the situation remains tense.

"At this moment, every family is in its hiding place. And there are some families in the basement of the [local] Armenian church. There is no evacuation at the moment, each family decides for itself whether it can go or not. They are going primarily to European countries. People are trying to get out, risking their lives," he said.

Vahagn Matevosyan, the head of the Union of Armenians of the Donetsk Region, told us that the situation is critical, especially in Mariupol.

"As of today, the electricity grid in the city of Mariupol has been damaged, there will be no electricity, therefore, there will be no heating either in the apartments. A serious problem has arisen with bread. We are working to solve that issue. We have managed to get flour, we need to bake, distribute lavash [bread]. There is panic, the [local] Armenians have consolidated, they maintain contact with each other. Many Armenians have left the city—but at great risk. They mainly go towards Moldova, the roads from the other sides are closed. ”

Compared to these cities, the situation is calmer in Odessa where people stay in their homes when air raid sirens blare out.

Anna Gevorgyan, the head of the Armenian community in Odessa, told us that the local Armenian community is now ready with everything.

"If there is a need to assemble, we assemble in our cultural center. We are in touch with all the Armenians here. There is evacuation, mainly among children and women, but we do not have mass evacuation as such," she added.