TheNewsGuru

Tag: Russia

  • Ukraine: FG begins evacuation of stranded Nigerians

    Ukraine: FG begins evacuation of stranded Nigerians

    Amb. Gabriel Aduda, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, disclosed that the Federal Government have commenced the evacuation of stranded Nigerians, who fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries, following the conflict between the country and Russia. This was made known in a statement in Abuja, on Wednesday.

    Amb. Gabriel Aduda, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.

    Aduda stated that the stranded Nigerians would be evacuated from Romania, Poland and Hungary, via Max Air and Air Peace flights.

    “Furtherance to our efforts to evacuate Nigerians from neighbouring countries surrounding Ukraine, we can confirm that chattered flights will depart on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, to pick up the Nigerian evacuee’s home.

    “So far, we have the following records of evacuees received by the Nigerian embassies at Hungary: 650 persons, Poland: 350 persons, Romania: 940 persons and Slovakia: 150 persons.

    “The capacity and routes of the airlines are as follow: Max Air to Romania 560 persons, Air Peace to Poland 365 persons and Air Peace to Hungary 360 persons.

    “The first batch of evacuees are expected to arrive in Nigeria on Thursday, March 3, 2022.

    “Once again, we assure Nigerians that we are working round the clock to see that our citizens are brought back home safely.

    The permanent secretary further gave the following numbers; +2349160847498, +2347010882907, as consular helplines in case of any emergencies or inquiries.

  • Russia-Ukraine war: Men will be on the street within 48 hours – Kanu threatens FG

    Russia-Ukraine war: Men will be on the street within 48 hours – Kanu threatens FG

    Kanunta Kanu, a brother of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has urged the Federal government to learn from the current war happening between Russia and Ukraine.

    Kanu warned that “men” would take to the streets and defend themselves if the Federal Government continues its aggression in the southeast.

    In a tweet, the brother to IPOB leader noted that they would begin the defence within the next 48 hours.

    According to Kanu: “Dear @GovNigeria: Let it be clear that 2022 is not 1967. Take a lesson from the Russian-Ukrainian war.

    “If you continue with your aggression in Biafra, men will be on the street of #Biafraland within 48 hours. We have to defend ourselves @FCDOGovUK @StateDept @UKParliament @UN.”

  • 115 Nigerians besiege Ukraine embassy in Abuja, volunteer to fight against Russia

    115 Nigerians besiege Ukraine embassy in Abuja, volunteer to fight against Russia

    Some 115 Nigerians have besieged Ukraine Embassy in Abuja, the federal capital of Nigeria to volunteer help for Ukraine to wage war against Russia.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Second Secretary of the Ukraine Embassy, Bohdan Soltys confirmed the development, adding that no step had been taken yet to that effect.

    As Russia continues its onslaught in Ukraine, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy had announced a visa free regime for anyone willing to help the nation.

    The men, who besieged the Ukraine Embassy in Abuja, also put down their names in a register provided by the embassy.

    This is coming at a time Nigerians in the troubled country are struggling to return home.

    Nigeria’s foreign affairs ministry had, in a statement by Gabriel Aduda, the ministry’s permanent secretary, announced that it expects to receive the first batch of evacuees from Ukraine on Thursday.

    According to Mr Aduda, “the chartered flights (Air Peace, Max Air) will depart on Wednesday, March 2, to pick up Nigerian evacuees back home.”

    He added that the Nigerian embassies in Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia have received 650, 350, 940 and 150 persons respectively from Ukraine.

    On the routes and capacity for the air lifts, Mr Aduda noted that Max Air will lift 560 persons from Romania while Air Peace will lift 364 persons from Poland and 360 from Hungary.

    Meanwhile, the Nigerian embassy in Ukraine has ascertained that there are over 5,000 Nigerian students in Ukraine.

  • Russia residents with more than $10,000 barred from leaving country

    Russia residents with more than $10,000 barred from leaving country

    Russian residents are no longer allowed to leave the country with more than the equivalent of 10,000 dollars as the Kremlin tries to keep capital inside the country.

    The country faced sharp sanctions due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    The rule affects the movement of foreign currency too.

    It seems designed to make sure that people attempting to leave Russia as sanctions were slapped on the country don’t take all their hard currency with them.

    Long queues are now common at cash machines that still have banknotes as people try to withdraw their holdings.

    This is against the backdrop of a rouble that is rapidly losing most of its value in light of the sanctions.

    Prices of imported goods are shooting up and people are trying to purchase some items, like new phones before they become unaffordable.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin said the rule limiting cash movements was a reaction to “unfriendly” steps taken by the U.S. and other Western countries.

    The unfriendly steps included sanctions that had been slapped on multiple Russian banks.

  • I received an offer from Abramovich to buy Chelsea – Swiss billionaire

    I received an offer from Abramovich to buy Chelsea – Swiss billionaire

    Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich has offered to sell the club to Swiss billionaire, Hansjorg Wyss and is demanding in excess of £2billon.

    The 55-year-old Russian oligarch is under the spotlight due to alleged ties to President Vladimir Putin.

    Wyss, who is reported to have a personal net worth of $5.8billion, says it is the Russian who is trying to engineer an auction, not the other way around.

    Speaking to Swiss newspaper, Blick, the 85-year-old said: “Abramovich is one of Putin’s closest advisers and friends. Like all other oligarchs, he is also in a state of panic.

    “Abramovich is trying to sell all his properties in England. He also wants to get rid of Chelsea quickly. I and three other people received an offer on Tuesday to buy Chelsea from Abramovich.”

    Wyss, however, said that the Russian billionaire businessman has placed the price for the club so high, adding that he has to wait to see what happens in the next four or five days.

    “You know Chelsea owe him £2billion? But Chelsea has no money, which means that whoever buys Chelsea has to compensate Abramovich,” he added.

  • Ukraine: Russia blows Kyiv’s main TV tower killing 5 people

    Ukraine: Russia blows Kyiv’s main TV tower killing 5 people

    At least, five people have been killed in Ukraine’s capital after Russia on Tuesday blew Kyiv’s main television (TV) tower.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the TV tower in Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv came under attack during Russia’s assault on the city.

    Video released by Ukraine’s UNIAN news agency showed a dark cloud of smoke rising from the scene after the steel-lattice tower was apparently struck by two missiles.

    The attack is causing disruptions to TV and radio broadcasts, the agency reported. However, the tower was said to still be standing.

    Russia said earlier it would launch targeted attacks on the infrastructure used by Ukrainian intelligence service SBU.

    Another air raid siren sounded across the city on Tuesday afternoon, and Mayor Vitali Klitschko described the situation as ‘threatening.’

    “The enemy wants to conquer the heart of our country. But we will fight and not give up Kyiv,” he wrote on Telegram.

  • Ghanaian students in Ukraine arrive Accra

    Ghanaian students in Ukraine arrive Accra

    The first group of Ghanaian students evacuated from Ukraine, following the Russian invasion, arrived Accra on Tuesday.

     

    More than 660,000 people have fled Ukraine while around one million people are internally displaced, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

     

    The African Union (AU) on Monday condemned reports that Africans had been mistreated and in some cases denied the right to cross Ukraine’s borders to safety.

     

    Looking cheerful after finally reaching the capital Accra, the Ghanaian students said they wanted to get back together with their families after the difficult journey.

     

    Ghanaian officials said the 17 students were the first batch of over 500 students expected to be brought home. They arrived on commercial flights paid by the government.

     

    “I was afraid for my life, that is why I decided to leave. Some cities were being bombed close to my place and I spoke to my parents who asked that I should leave,” Priscilla Adjai, one of the students said.

     

    “It has not been easy but thank God we managed to move out and have finally made it to Ghana.”

     

    Another student, Esther Edze, said her group had been helped by the Church of Pentecost to leave Ukraine and meet up with Ghanaian diplomats on the other side of the border.

     

    “It’s not an experience I would wish for anyone,” Edze said.

     

    The deputy minister for foreign affairs, Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, said the government would help the students reintegrate and reunite with their families.

     

    Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey said 527 Ghanaians had crossed the Ukrainian border to various European countries and would soon be evacuated if they wanted.

  • Ukraine-Russia war: German coach quits Lokomotiv Moscow

    Ukraine-Russia war: German coach quits Lokomotiv Moscow

    German coach Markus Gisdol has departed his position at Lokomotiv Moscow, the Russian top-flight club said on Tuesday.

    The club did not give a reason for his departure after just four and a half months on the bench.

    However, the 52-year-old Gisdol made it clear in a newspaper interview that he was quitting over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    “Football coach is the most beautiful job in the world for me,” he said. “But I cannot pursue my profession in a country whose leader is responsible for an attack in the middle of Europe.

    “That does not match with my values. I can’t stand in Moscow on the training pitch where players train and demand professionalism when a few kilometres away orders are given which brings misery upon a whole people.

    “That is my personal decision and I am absolutely convinced of it.”

    Gisdol, who previously coached Hoffenheim and SV Hamburg in the Bundesliga, was released by Cologne last April and took the Lokomotiv job in October.

    Former Bundesliga player Marvin Compper will replace Gisdol as Lokomotiv’s interim coach, the club said.

    Another German coach working in Russia, Sandro Schwarz, meanwhile said he would not leave his position at Dynamo Moscow.

    “I’m not someone who buys a ticket, jumps in the plane and flies away from Russia,” he said. “That’s not my style. I feel my responsibility and stay at the club.”

  • Prove you are with us, Ukraine president urges European Union

    Prove you are with us, Ukraine president urges European Union

    Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, urged the European Union on Tuesday to prove that it sided with Ukraine in its war with Russia a day after signing an official request to join the bloc.

    Zelenskiy told the European Parliament by video link that “Ukraine is going to be much stronger with European Union with us, that’s for sure. Without you, Ukraine is going to be lonesome.

    “Do prove that you are with us. Do prove that you will not let us go. Do prove that you are indeed Europeans and then life will win over death and light will win over darkness. Glory is to Ukraine.”

    Zelensky formally signed the nation’s application to join the European Union on Monday after asking the bloc to move swiftly to admit Ukraine as a member.

    He signed the application after appealing to the EU in a video that called for Ukraine’s “immediate accession under a new special procedure.”

    However, the typical pathway for a country to join the EU requires prospective countries to first fulfill set criteria like establishing a free-market economy and accepting EU legislation and the euro.

    All member states would have to approve Ukraine joining, which was something that might not happen, as European Council President, Charles Michel, told Euronews there are “different opinions and sensitivities within the EU” regarding Ukraine’s membership.

    Leaders in Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic have pushed for the EU to create a “totally new track” that would allow Ukraine to swiftly join the EU, but EU leaders so far don’t seem to be on board.

    European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, told Euronews Saturday that “we want (Ukraine) in” the EU, but suggested the membership process would happen “over time.”

    Joining the EU could immediately help Ukraine militarily, as EU members are bound by a mutual defense clause that requires other members to aid a country if it’s “the victim of armed aggression on its territory.”

    Admission to the bloc would also benefit Ukraine economically and give them additional benefits, like Ukrainians having free movement throughout the bloc and being granted the variety of rights afforded to EU citizens.

  • Nigerians in Ukraine to return home on Wednesday – FG

    Nigerians in Ukraine to return home on Wednesday – FG

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, has announced that the Federal Government will from Wednesday begin the evacuation of about 2,000 Nigerians who have fled the war in Ukraine to neighbouring countries.

     

    In an interview, the minister revealed the President Muhammadu Buhari had approved funds for the airlines (Air Peace and Max Air) to evacuate Nigerians.

     

    He said there were about 8,000 Nigerians in Ukraine, 5,000 of whom were students, adding that the Federal Government had tipped Air Peace and Air Max to airlift the Nigerians who wanted to be evacuated.

     

    Earlier, Onyeama while briefing the House of Representatives on the evacuation efforts, he stated, “We made Romania the hub and over a thousand Nigerians have crossed there. Poland has about 250, Budapest in Hungary has a similar number, Slovakia is rising rapidly. It is also around 200. There are some Nigerians in a place called Sumy close to the Russian border.

     

    “I have been in touch with the ambassador. There are about 150 of them who are looking to cross into Russia and we have asked the ambassador in Russia to try and get a permit for them to transit to Russia and hopefully by Wednesday we will start deploying planes to start bringing the Nigerians,” the minister said.

     

    Onyeama argued that it was not the sole duty of the Federal Government to evacuate Nigerians that were stranded abroad because this was not the global practice. He said people who use their own money to travel abroad ought to be able to return home by themselves.

    He recalled that last year, some Nigerians who willingly travelled to Russia for the World Cup but were unable to return home after exhausting their money.

     

    The minister revealed that Buhari approved a flight to bring them back home.

     

    Onyeama disclosed that family members of Nigerians diplomats in Ukraine had been taken out of the country, adding that the diplomats would also be evacuated soon.

     

    He also stated that about four to five aircraft had been secured to airlift Nigerians from the Ukrainian neighbours.

     

    On why the Nigerian government was not proactive like the United States which had advised its citizens to leave Ukraine over a week before the Russian invasion, Onyeama said the Nigerian diplomats in Ukraine were the ones that assured the Nigerian government that Russia would not invade.

     

    He said no one could have known that Vladmir Putin would order his military to invade Ukraine barely days after he said he had withdrawn them from the border.