Ukraine crisis: Jordanian weds Ukrainian fiancee in Bucharest so he can take her home

Fighting between Moscow and Kyiv has forced 1.2 million refugees to flee to Europe for safety

Photo: Jordan Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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A Jordanian man wed his Ukranian fiancee in Romania on Friday so he could bring her to his home country, after they fled fighting in Kyiv.

The couple married at the Jordanian embassy in Bucharest, witnessed by Sufyan Qudah, Jordan’s ambassador to Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova who made the announcement.

“Today, our embassy facilitated the procedures for the first marriage of a Jordanian who came from Ukraine with his Ukrainian fiancée,” Mr Qudah said on Twitter.

“The marriage was concluded under the supervision of the embassy at one of the Islamic associations in Bucharest,” he said.

Jordan has also been facilitating the safe passage of hundreds of its citizens stranded in Ukraine since the war started.

Diplomatic means have been used to ensure the transit and entry procedures for 718 Jordanian citizens at the border crossing between Ukraine, Romania, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Moldova.

"Our citizens have been provided with all forms of assistance and support to ensure their safety and to secure their needs to facilitate their return to the Kingdom of Jordan," said the country's foreign ministry in a statement.

The ministry said that 232 citizens have arrived in the Kingdom from Ukraine via Budapest, Bucharest and Warsaw.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has so far resulted in more than 1.2 million refugees fleeing over the borders into neighbouring countries, according to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).

The assault is the biggest attack on a European country since the Second World War.

People from the Middle East escape Ukraine - in pictures

Tunisian citizens who fled to Poland following Russia's invasion of Ukraine are welcomed by their relatives at Tunis airport in Tunisia. Reuters

A Tunisian arrives with his cat in Tunis. EPA

Tunisians leaving a plane upon their arrival at the airport. Reuters

The foreign ministry estimates there are 1,700 Tunisians living in Ukraine, most of them students. Reuters

Tunisians who took off from Bucharest after fleeing to Romania following Russia's invasion arrive in Tunis. EPA

After early evacuations of several hundred students on military planes, the Tunisian government has struggled to co-ordinate with those still fleeing the war. EPA

The mother of a Moroccan student who was studying in Ukraine holds a flower to give her as she arrives at Casablanca airport in Morocco. AP Photo

Relatives of Moroccan students wait outside the Mohammed V airport in Casablanca. AFP

Moroccan students embrace their relatives after arriving at the airport. AFP

For those who managed to flee, reunions with family and friends are joyful, but bittersweet. The uncertainty of interrupted studies, the lives and friends they leave behind, all remain ingrained in their minds. AFP

A Moroccan student holds his dog after arriving at Mohammed V airport. AFP