‘Ukrainian authorities investigating attack against Jordanians’

AMMAN — Ukrainian authorities are working to prevent any attacks against foreign students similar to the recent “unprecedented” one against four Jordanians, Ukrainian Ambassador to Jordan Sergiy Pasko said Tuesday.

In a phone interview with The Jordan Times, Pasko added that his country is “doing everything to capture the attackers”, who wore masks and exceeded 40 in number, according to the account of one of the victims.

The ambassador said he visited Amir Halalmeh and Odai Rawashdeh, who were airlifted to Jordan on Sunday, at the King Hussein Medical Centre’s intensive care unit, expressing hope for their speedy recovery.

Halalmeh, who suffers from a traumatic injury on the left side of his head and brain oedema, is showing “good signs” of progress, according to Pasko, who noted that Jordanian doctors commended the medical care Halalmeh received in Ukraine.

“His oedema is decreasing and he was able to move both legs, which is a sign of no severe damage in the brain,” he added.

Rawashdeh is in “good condition with a not very dangerous wound” and was expected to be discharged from hospital on Tuesday or Wednesday, the envoy said. 

“Rawashdeh is a third year medical student and he has three more years left… he informed his family of his willingness to go back to Ukraine to continue his studies,” Pasko noted.

Meanwhile, brothers Mohammad and Malik Matarneh preferred to stay in Kharkiv to receive the necessary treatment, he said. 

Other cities and universities in Ukraine are safe, and Jordanians live there in peaceful conditions, the ambassador said, adding that the Jordanian community in Kharkiv is “very united and feel... at home”.

The diplomat cited a demonstration by over 100 Jordanians living in Kharkiv asking the local and central government in Ukraine to investigate the attack. 

In the first five months of this year, 166 visas were issued for Jordanians travelling to Ukraine, compared to 80 in the same period of 2014, according to Pasko.

Around 3,400 Jordanians are enrolled in Ukrainian universities, from which over 2,900 Jordanian practising doctors have graduated, the ambassador said.

The medical students were injured last week when a group attacked their housing complex in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city.