Over 10 police officers have been badly injured amid clashes with local residents in the town of Novi Sanzhary, Poltava region, who were protesting against the arrival of evacuees from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
"Disappointment in people, in that moral system. It's a shame before the whole world! People [the evacuees] spent 22 hours on their way [home] and got such a reception... Let everyone think about it," he told journalists during a briefing in Novi Sanzhary on Thursday, February 20, after those who were evacuated from China had been accommodated in a local health center.
"Then drunk people [those who took part in the protest] tried to misuse the notion of patriotism. People don't think much about social values. I am ashamed of many things that have happened today. They may say that the authorities are bad, they may not trust the authorities, but people must always remain humans deep down in their heart," he said.
He thanked the police for their professionalism and called the events in Novi Sanzhary one of the biggest disappointments in his life.
As UNIAN reported, chartered flight PQ 7302 with Ukrainian citizens and foreigners evacuated from China landed at Kharkiv Airport on February 20. Then the evacuees were bussed to the National Guard's medical center in Novi Sanzhary. Ukraine's Health Ministry reported there were 45 Ukrainians, 27 foreigners and crew members, including three doctors, on board the plane. They all will be placed under 14-day observation with a strict biosecurity regime.
