Honorary Consul of Greece from Odessa: “I will stay here until the end”

Pantelis Boumbouras, Honorary Consul of Greece in the Crimea and Kherson, is now in Odessa with his sons.

He sent his daughter and wife to Greece he started to be safe.

“Here I will stay until the end – if I left here, I would be a living dead.”

Commenting on what is happening as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Pantelis Boumbouras says in an interview with ERT:

“It looks like the fight is getting tougher. This tourist city, the city of culture, which was not even bombed by Hitler, this maniac can destroy. Because he destroys and kills humanity. Here I will stay until the end. We are ready and calm as possible, because we are not superhumans. I talk to people from Kyiv and Kharkov, and I also feel calm. They seem to be used to war and live it as their daily life.”

Speaking about the prevailing mood among the inhabitants of Odessa, in which the Greek element is strong, Boumbouras says:

“I didn’t expect the Ukrainian people to be so generous, and I’m proud of them.”

Talking about the reasons why he decided to stay in Odessa, Boumbouras noted:

For me, Ukraine is a second home. My son’s wife is Ukrainian. Ukraine brought me up when Greece was going through a crisis. I am an honorary citizen of Odessa. These are the people who love Greece. There are about ninety Greeks here. If I left here, I would become a living dead. I stayed to help someone in need. I will stay here until the end. Until we see Ukraine strong and independent. The Ukrainian people have shown how proud they are. If the Europeans are smart, they will accept Ukraine in EUbecause she has proven that she deserves it.

The honorary consul of Greece does not make predictions about the future – both his own and his second homeland. Edition newsbeast.gr quotes him as saying:

Only God knows what will happen next. We are ready for the best and the worst.