01:22A special Russian Emergencies Ministry (EMERCOM) plane has flown 60 Russian citizens from Beirut to Zhukovsky airport near Moscow, while those arriving described the escalating situation on Thursday.
"They started actively bombing the city, so we were actually taken out of there because there were already explosions right in front of the embassy entrance. <...> We always wake up in the morning, and the whole neighbourhood is covered in smoke. <...> Explosions, missiles flying by, a war," said Anna, one of the evacuees.
Footage shows the evacuees filling the airport terminal, where they were greeted with hugs from relatives.
Anna added that none of her relatives were hurt, but that her husband remained in the city, where it was 'very, very scary'. Another, Lisa, described how the EMERCOM team had assisted her, as well as the smoke and blasts in the city.
The aircraft delivered 33 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Beirut before picking up Russian citizens.
The agency said the evacuation of diplomats and their families was carried out on the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the head of the Emergencies Ministry, Aleksandr Kurenkov. The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed the return of diplomatic staff and other foreign institutions in Lebanon.
Israel's latest wave of strikes on Hezbollah targets began on September 23, with more than 1,200 people killed and over 7,000 injured at the time of publication, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The IDF launched a ground incursion on Tuesday, with fighting ongoing in the border regions.
Last Friday, an attack on Beirut's southern suburb killed Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and others. Iran launched a wave of missiles on Tuesday, which it said was in response to that assassination and others.
Tensions in southern Lebanon escalated in mid-September after mass explosions of pagers and handheld radios belonging to Hezbollah. The group has exchanged cross-border fire with Israel since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023.
'Everything is very, very scary!' - Evacuated Russian citizens describe escalating violence in Lebanon
A special Russian Emergencies Ministry (EMERCOM) plane has flown 60 Russian citizens from Beirut to Zhukovsky airport near Moscow, while those arriving described the escalating situation on Thursday.
"They started actively bombing the city, so we were actually taken out of there because there were already explosions right in front of the embassy entrance. <...> We always wake up in the morning, and the whole neighbourhood is covered in smoke. <...> Explosions, missiles flying by, a war," said Anna, one of the evacuees.
Footage shows the evacuees filling the airport terminal, where they were greeted with hugs from relatives.
Anna added that none of her relatives were hurt, but that her husband remained in the city, where it was 'very, very scary'. Another, Lisa, described how the EMERCOM team had assisted her, as well as the smoke and blasts in the city.
The aircraft delivered 33 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Beirut before picking up Russian citizens.
The agency said the evacuation of diplomats and their families was carried out on the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the head of the Emergencies Ministry, Aleksandr Kurenkov. The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed the return of diplomatic staff and other foreign institutions in Lebanon.
Israel's latest wave of strikes on Hezbollah targets began on September 23, with more than 1,200 people killed and over 7,000 injured at the time of publication, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The IDF launched a ground incursion on Tuesday, with fighting ongoing in the border regions.
Last Friday, an attack on Beirut's southern suburb killed Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and others. Iran launched a wave of missiles on Tuesday, which it said was in response to that assassination and others.
Tensions in southern Lebanon escalated in mid-September after mass explosions of pagers and handheld radios belonging to Hezbollah. The group has exchanged cross-border fire with Israel since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023.
A special Russian Emergencies Ministry (EMERCOM) plane has flown 60 Russian citizens from Beirut to Zhukovsky airport near Moscow, while those arriving described the escalating situation on Thursday.
"They started actively bombing the city, so we were actually taken out of there because there were already explosions right in front of the embassy entrance. <...> We always wake up in the morning, and the whole neighbourhood is covered in smoke. <...> Explosions, missiles flying by, a war," said Anna, one of the evacuees.
Footage shows the evacuees filling the airport terminal, where they were greeted with hugs from relatives.
Anna added that none of her relatives were hurt, but that her husband remained in the city, where it was 'very, very scary'. Another, Lisa, described how the EMERCOM team had assisted her, as well as the smoke and blasts in the city.
The aircraft delivered 33 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Beirut before picking up Russian citizens.
The agency said the evacuation of diplomats and their families was carried out on the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the head of the Emergencies Ministry, Aleksandr Kurenkov. The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed the return of diplomatic staff and other foreign institutions in Lebanon.
Israel's latest wave of strikes on Hezbollah targets began on September 23, with more than 1,200 people killed and over 7,000 injured at the time of publication, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The IDF launched a ground incursion on Tuesday, with fighting ongoing in the border regions.
Last Friday, an attack on Beirut's southern suburb killed Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and others. Iran launched a wave of missiles on Tuesday, which it said was in response to that assassination and others.
Tensions in southern Lebanon escalated in mid-September after mass explosions of pagers and handheld radios belonging to Hezbollah. The group has exchanged cross-border fire with Israel since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023.