Story By:  Gheorghi Caraseni, Sub Editor:  Joseph Golder,  Agency: Central European News

Ukrainian officials refused to evacuate this woman from the virus-hit epicentre of the Coronavirus outbreak because she did not want to leave her dog behind.

The incident happened in the eastern Chinese city of Wuhan which belongs to the country’s Hubei province.

The city has become synonymous with the deadly Coronavirus – also known as COVID-19 – amid the outbreak and subsequent quarantine which ravaged the area in recent weeks.

Ukranian expat Anastasia Zinchenko was due to be evacuated from the city on February 19 along with other nationals.

However, she was forced to stay behind after officials rejected her request to take her beloved pet along, and she claimed ignored paperwork that proved the dog was safe to travel.

In a post on her social media page, she claimed Ukranian officials had initially rejected her request to evacuate claiming she would need to have additional documents from a vet.

However, once she managed to acquire the requested paperwork, she claims they still refused to let her fly with her pet pooch on board and left her behind.

Anastasia posted: “I filed an application, sent a questionnaire, passport photo and visas to participate in the evacuation, but the embassy refused me because I have a dog.

“They suggested that I leave it or give it to the nursery, to which I answered categorically ‘no’. I don’t know what kind of answer they were expecting, but I will never give up and betray her. She is my friend and my family, my support and my happiness.”

In a later post, Anastasia told netizens that upon not receiving a reply from the embassy she later contacted the Ukranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs who said they were not aware of the incident.

She posted: “So, the embassy didn’t pass the documents anywhere and they refused to evacuate me. They called me saying that everyone else was to blame for the refusal.

“But as it turned out, they just bullied me all this time and, despite having received the documents, they did not pass them anywhere.”

Reportedly the plane Anastasia was supposed to be evacuated with flew out on time without her on board.

It remains unknown if or when she will be evacuated.

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