Jordanians injured in Ukraine airlifted to Kingdom

AMMAN — The four Jordanian students injured in Ukraine were expected to reach the Kingdom Sunday night in a medically equipped plane, according to an official.  

The plane, equipped with a medical team by the Royal Medical Services, took off on Sunday afternoon to Kharkiv International Airport to transport the students back to Jordan so they can continue their treatment, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Sabah Al Rafie said.

The medical students were injured Thursday night when a group attacked a housing complex they were staying at in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city. 

The medical team consists of neurosurgeons, general surgeons and anaesthesiologists, as well as a technical nursing team to deal with the injured students, three of whom are in critical condition, she said.

Rafie added that Jordan’s cultural attaché in Ukraine was coordinating the transportation process, noting that the ministry has been following up on the case since it happened.

On Saturday, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said the ministry set up an operations room to monitor the situation around-the-clock, while two Jordanian cultural attachés are following up on the issue, describing the students’ situation as a “priority for the government”.

He added in a meeting with the media that Jordanian authorities are in contact with Ukrainian authorities regarding the investigations and the reasons behind the assault on the Jordanian students.

According to local news websites, the four students are brothers Mohammad and Malik Matarneh, Amir Halalmeh and Odai Rawashdeh.

On Friday, Ukrainian news agency UNIAN reported that the Jordanian students were injured during “a mass brawl on a university campus area”, and that three of them underwent surgery.

One of the wounded Jordanians has an open head injury, while the others have stab wounds, according to UNIAN, and all four are in intensive care.

Citing the Ukrainian interior ministry, the agency said nine people were injured in the attack. Six people were hospitalised, including the Jordanians.

Around 3,500 Jordanians study at Ukrainian universities.

In February, a Jordanian student died in Ukraine and a source familiar with the case said he was killed in a fight with two Ukrainians.

Last year, another Jordanian was found dead in Donetsk, Ukraine, with no details about the case until now.