Ukraine is being hit by Russian airstrikes. Nigerians may be caught in the crossfire. They are desperately waiting for FG’s evacuation
By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
Nigerians in Ukraine are desperately pleading to be evacuated out of the Eastern European country as Russian bombs continue to drop on military installations and residential buildings.
Russian bombs have been dropping mostly on the two most important Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Kharkiv. Many Nigerians live in these two cities.
TheNiche spoke with Obinna Ezugwu, a Nigerian based in Ukraine. He lives in Sumy City, which, for now, has not been attacked by Russian air bombs. But many of his friends in Kharkiv and Kyiv slept in the basement of the cities metro stations to avoid Russian bombs which do not differentiate military installations from residential buildings.
Ezugwu only relocated out of Kharkiv in January to Sumy City after he completed his Master’s Degree in Radio and Radiographic Engineering at the Kharkiv State University.
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He fears that although the bombs haven’t started raining in Sumy City, the temporary respite may be short-lived as Russian troops appeared to have doubled down on their unprovoked offensive against Ukraine.
He said, for now, they survive with the cash in their hands and worry that once the money runs out and supplies stop coming, their plight might become acute.
He said: “We are all prepared to leave to Poland if the border is still open but the problem is that no car is leaving due to the state of emergency imposed.”
For many Nigerians who have been naturalized in Ukraine, leaving the country may be problematic due to a new order by President Volodymyr Zelensky that citizens who are 18 to 60 years old have to remain for enlistment into the Ukrainian Army.
How this plays out in the coming days remain to be seen. But the Ukrainian officials could easily identify naturalized citizens since they don’t require Visas to live in the Eastern European country.
Russia intensifies attack
There have been reported casualties on both sides of the war, but Ukraine is mainly at the receiving end of the aerial bombardment from Russia.
Russia had annexed the Ukraine city of Crimea in 2014 and has been using that flank to pummel Ukraine with airstrikes.
Zelensky announced in a video message on Thursday that 137 civilians and military personnel have been killed on the first day of the Russian invasion, with 316 others wounded.
“They’re killing people and turning peaceful cities into military targets. It’s foul and will never be forgiven. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state. I will stay in the capital. My family is also in Ukraine,” Zelenskiy said.
