While the Nigerian government asks its citizens in Ukraine to remain calm, India has carried out a round of evacuation of its nationals stranded in the country.
External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on Friday evening and discussed the difficulties faced by the Indian students in the midst of the conflict.
“Discussed predicament of Indian nationals, including students. Appreciate his support for their safe return,” he said after the phone call.
Russian President, Vladimir Putin, in the early hours of Thursday, had ordered an invasion of Ukraine.
The invasion was marked by shelling and rocket attacks on several Ukrainian major cities, including the capital, Kyiv, leading to dozens of deaths.
It was gathered that the first batch of Indian students left Chernivtsi in a bus for the Ukraine-Romania border.
The Embassy of India in Kyiv announced that the evacuation was being organized with the joint effort of the Indian embassies in Romania, Hungary and Poland.
Preparations are also being made on the Poland-Ukraine border to allow Indian students to enter Poland for their onward journey to India
According to the Embassy, “today afternoon more than 470 students will exit Ukraine and enter Romania through the Porubne-Siret border.
“We are moving Indians located at the border to neighboring countries for onward evacuation.
“Efforts are underway to relocate Indians coming from the hinterland,” the Embassy of India in Ukraine said in a social media message.
“Preparations are also being made on the Poland-Ukraine border to allow Indian students to enter Poland for their onward journey to India.”
While evacuation has been undertaken following a telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, widespread military action across Ukraine is currently underway, especially in major urban centers such as Kyiv, Kharkiv and others that also hold large Indian communities.
5,600 Nigerians in Ukraine
There are approximately 18,000 Indians present in Ukraine and many have sought shelter in the underground bunkers to stay safe as Russia is carrying out bombing raids across the country.
No evacuation of Nigerians in Ukraine until the airports in the European country are reopened
The Federal Government on Friday said there can be no evacuation of Nigerians in Ukraine until the airports in the European country, which is under attack by Russia, are reopened.
According to the Nigerian Foreign Affairs Ministry, there are no fewer than 5,600 Nigerians in Ukraine, the majority of who are students.
Ukraine is a choice destination for many Nigerian students, especially those in medical-related fields because it is cheaper compared with other western countries.
The National Association of Nigerian Students in Ukraine had sent out a Save Our Soul message to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), seeking immediate evacuation from Ukraine.
On Friday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said the Federal Government was concerned about the safety of the 5,600 Nigerians in Ukraine.
Onyeama disclosed that during his meeting with the Russian envoy, he discussed the possibility of Nigeria getting her citizens out of Ukraine but the Russian envoy told him there might be risk involved.
According to him, Shebarshin, however, said Russia was mindful of the civilians from foreign countries and would take all the necessary measures to ensure their security.
“He was a lot more sanguine, optimistic that no harm will come to them, but we cannot take any risks,” the minister quoted Shebarshin to have said.
However, Onyeama said he made it clear to the Russian envoy that the Federal Government of Nigeria would not condone the violation of the territorial integrity of a United Nations member state with which Nigeria has diplomatic relations.
Onyema said he told Shebarshin that Nigeria was urging Russia to revert to the status quo before the military action on Ukraine and to prioritize diplomacy and dialogue.
“This is really the position of the government. And also, we have 5,600 Nigerians in Ukraine and we are very concerned about what we are hearing and what we are seeing, regarding missiles and bombs about the safety of our Nigerian citizens over there, that we would like to be able to evacuate them.
“This would be communicated to his headquarters and that obviously, they consider Nigeria a friendly country and Nigerians; and that they would do nothing to harm Nigerians and assured me that their action is targeted at military installations and that they are not about to start attacking civilian areas and so forth,” Onyeama said.
Advertisement
