Once known as a refuge for wealthy Russians, the tiny state has taken in more than 3,000 Ukrainians since the start of Putin’s invasion
Flown out on one of the last flights to leave Kyiv before Russia invaded, the Ukrainians take in the scene. To their left lies the Mediterranean, to their right a palm tree-fringed five-star hotel.
“We all work for a multinational IT firm which has an office in Cyprus,” says Xenia Karpenko, who since late February has been in the seaside resort of Limassol. “Less than 48 hours before the Russian invasion it said: ‘We’ll fly you out, with your family, your partners, your pets.’ There were 200 of us onboard. Now we have no idea what tomorrow will bring.”
