Turkish and Ukrainian nationals evacuated from the country amid the Russian invasion have started to arrive in Turkey.
The Turkish nationals started to arrive on Sunday morning by land after the Turkish Foreign Ministry arranged their evacuation through Romania and Bulgaria due to the closure of the Ukrainian air space after Russia's attacks on Ukraine.
Evacuated Turkish nationals entered Turkey through northwestern Hamzabeyli Border Gate at the Turkish-Bulgarian border and will be transferred to Istanbul by bus.
Turkish deputy foreign minister Yavuz Selim Kıran on Friday announced the evacuation plan for Turkish nationals in Ukraine via land borders. "We have started our evacuation operations by land from Ukraine," Kıran wrote on Twitter.
Turkey is "in close cooperation with the countries of the region to facilitate the passage of our citizens," who will either leave through the ministry's evacuation operations or by their own means via the border gates.
Kıran also detailed the practices that Turkish nationals leaving Ukraine will be subject to when they pass through the land border gates.
Ukrainian families also continued to arrive in Turkey through border gates in Edirne and Kırklareli provinces on Saturday.
Olena Özdoğan, who came to Turkey with her son, daughter-in-law and grandchild, said Russia's attack started right after she went to visit her son and daughter-in-law in Ukraine. She said they were happy to arrive in Turkey.
Leaving their loved ones behind, Özdoğan was overwhelmed with tears. "War is very difficult. I left my mother and father behind in Ukraine. My heart is searching for them every minute. My heart is aching," she said. "People are dying. It's so terrifying. I have many friends in Kyiv and Kharkov."
Dmitry Yarasova, who came to Kırklareli from Kyiv, said his family will stay in Turkey for a while.
He said that there are close combats in some regions in Ukraine and they want the war to end.
It has been reported that nearly 200 vehicles with Ukrainian license plates have passed the Dereköy, Kapıkule and Hamzabeyli border gates since Saturday.
Happy to see the Turkish flag
Stanislav Volkav, who came to Turkey with his daughter and son through the Hamzabeyli Border Gate in northwestern Edirne province, said cities were bombed by the Russian army and his wife's and mother's houses were damaged in the attacks.
"We first went to Moldova from Ukraine, where volunteers provided us with accommodation. Now we have come to Turkey. We are very happy to see the Turkish flag," he said.
Country-wide protests
Dozens of Turks and Ukrainians staged demonstrations Saturday across Turkey to protest the ongoing Russian military operations in Ukraine.
Members of the Free Thought and Educational Rights Society (Özgürder) held a protest outside the Russian Embassy in the capital of Ankara and condemned the Russian attacks.
Özgürder's representative, Yusuf Ahmet Kaya, accused Moscow of "hypocrisy" and argued that the West abandoned Ukrainians in their struggle.
The Association for Human Rights and Solidarity for the Oppressed (Mazlumder), also joined the protest with their Ankara branch director, Osman Yurt, who said the Russian intervention was "unacceptable."
"War is the worst choice for humanity," he said, adding that developments pointed to the collapse of the international system because a member of the United Nations Security Council was intervening against another U.N. member.
Ukrainians living in the western Izmir province also issued a statement in support of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of their country.
Protesters, including members of the Association of Ukrainians in Izmir, chanted slogans for their country and carried banners that read: "No to War" and "Stop your attacks, Russia!"
Ukrainian Nina Leonita said in tears that her parents, along with three nephews, were living in Ukraine and she was constantly worried about their safety.
‘Not choice of Ukrainians, Russians’
"This is a political war," she said, adding that the military conflict was not the choice of Ukrainians nor Russians.
A group of Ukrainians residing in the Muğla province also protested, chanting slogans against Russian President Vladimir Putin and carrying banners that demanded an end to the war.
Iryna Demiroğlu, speaking on behalf of protesters, said Russia sought to eradicate the Ukrainian state and capture its territories but Kyiv was determined to protect its soil.
In the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul, a group of Ukrainian citizens and Crimeans gathered in the Fatih Beyazıt Square and protested the military conflict.
Anzhala Pelit, a Ukrainian, said she was extremely worried since she lost contact with relatives in Ukraine and encouraged the world to support Ukraine.