Nigeria: Russia-Ukraine War

Nigerian students caught in the Russia-Ukraine war cannot cross to Poland despite instructions by the federal government to do so.

Even though the government said yesterday that the students should move to the Hungarian and the Romanian borders, many of them are facing perilous situations.

However, following the reported difficulties faced by Nigerians trying to escape the war-torn country through the Polish border, the federal government has advised those affected to move to the Hungarian Zahony border and Romanian Suceava, Tulcea, Satu Mare County and Maramures borders.

This was disclosed in a statement issued yesterday by the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gabriel Aduda.

There is sequel to reports that Nigerians trying to access the Polish border were being molested, extorted and denied entry into Poland among other threats.

The statement read, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is fully abreast of all the challenges Nigerians crossing into countries bordering Ukraine, especially the Polish border, are facing and we are taking adequate measures to assuage these challenges.

“The minister of Foreign Affairs has spoken with his counterpart, the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, on these unsavoury developments and both are working on alleviating the suffering of Nigerians including deploying the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to the border to ensure easier access to all Nigerians and other nationals.

“For now, movement to the Hungarian Zahony border and Romanian Suceava, Tulcea, Satu + Mare County and Maramures borders is advised, as they have approved visa free access to all Nigerians coming from Ukraine and arrangements for accommodation and feeding before evacuation is arranged.

“Parents, guardians and wards of Nigerians in Ukraine are please enjoined to remain calm as the Federal Government of Nigeria is working very hard to get them all home safely.”

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Embassy in Bucharest, Romania, has informed Nigerians arriving from Ukraine that arrangements had been put in place to receive them at the Romanian entry points.

The embassy hotlines are: Consular officer +40747309174 and Head of Chancery, +40786091964

The arrangement is in addition to those made by the Romanian authorities to welcome evacuated /repatriated nationals of every country from Ukraine.

“Nigerian nationals are advised to arrive at every entry point with valid documents and cooperate with the Romanian Immigration Officers at the border,” the embassy said in a statement yesterday.

Nigerians Recount Ordeals

Lolade Lawal has had her life turned upside down in a way she never imagined.

The third-year medical student from Nigeria is coming to terms with the effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that started last week.

“It is scary, very scary. I’m very worried. People are running for their lives. We are hiding in groups so we can keep an eye on each other,” Lawal told Al Jazeera over the phone as she sheltered with other students at a safe bunker in the northeastern city of Sumy.

“There’s no escape. Trains have stopped working. Most supermarkets are closed and those that are open are running very low on food stocks.

ATMs are not working and everyone is desperately looking for money,” Lawal said, as sirens went off in the background.

There are no official figures on the number of African students currently studying in Ukraine but Lawal said “there are hundreds of us in our city”.

“At my university, there are about 100 Nigerian students. I’m sheltering with some of them,” Lawal added.

Some students have managed to cross the border into Poland.

“I live in Kyiv. I have been living here since March last year,” Somto Orah, a student at the State University of Telecommunications in Kyiv, told Al Jazeera.

“We have received no support from any government authorities. The school only gave us a bomb shelter to hide when the air raid siren is on. The sirens came on and off for about five times yesterday before I left,” Orah, a Nigerian national, added.

“There is little food. I couldn’t access cash for two days now. Every ATM on the road has no cash.”

Others have had even less luck. Samuel George, a first-year software engineering student, fled Kyiv after the shelling and sirens got too much for him to handle.

“I drove from Kyiv. We are trying to survive. We don’t want to die in a foreign country,” George said.

As he neared the Polish border, Samuel’s luck ran out. He said he had a minor road accident with a vehicle carrying Ukrainians because the road was narrow.

He said they took his money and stopped him from driving any further.

“They are not officials, police or military. They are normal citizens who stopped us Africans from driving to the border. They let Ukrainians pass through but not us,” George said.

“I’m now walking to the border. I have no other option. I don’t know how much further the border is. They even took our money. It is like

they are not human beings,” George said, adding that he could no longer talk on the phone because his hands were freezing in the sub-zero temperature.

On Saturday, the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs said more than 115,000 people had crossed into Poland from Ukraine, adding thateveryone from Ukraine was allowed to enter, even those without a valid passport.

But for Somto and several other students, crossing the border into Poland has not been easy. “I will be heading to Nigeria from Poland if I’m able to cross. But if I see a school offer around Schengen, I will take it up because I don’t want my school life to be disrupted,” he said as he joined the queue at the border gate.

Russian Military Puts Nuclear Weapons On High Alert

… Kyiv to hold talks with Moscow

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is moving Russia’s nuclear deterrent to “special alert” as a response to NATO “aggression”

Putin ordered his military command to put deterrence forces – a reference to units which include nuclear arms – on high alert, citing statements by NATO leaders and economic sanctions against Moscow.

“As you can see, not only do Western countries take unfriendly measures against our country in the economic dimension – I mean the illegal sanctions that everyone knows about very well – but also the top officials of leading NATO countries allow themselves to make aggressive statements with regards to our country,” Putin said on state television.

The move does not mean Russia intends to use the weapons even as the US has condemned the move as “unacceptable”

BBC Frank Gardner said Russia’s announcement that its nuclear deterrent has been put on “special alert” is a sign of both President Putin’s anger at the West’s anti-Russian sanctions and his enduring paranoia that his country is under threat from NATO.

Meanwhile Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv will send a delegation for talks “without preconditions” with Moscow at the Ukraine-Belarus border.

This comes after a phone call between Zelenskyy and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. “We agreed that the Ukrainian delegation would meet with the Russian delegation without preconditions on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, near the Pripyat River,” Zelenskyy said in a statement after holding a phone call with Lukashenko.

He did not give a precise time for the meeting, but said Lukashenko, a Putin ally, “has taken responsibility for ensuring that all planes, helicopters and missiles stationed on Belarusian territory remain on the ground during the Ukrainian delegation’s travel, talks and return.

As the war rages across Ukrainian cities Regional Governor Oleh Sinegubov said Ukrainian troops have full control of the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, after street fighting with Russian forces.

Kyiv’s mayor said there are no Russian soldiers in the capital, and that the city’s defences are holding firm.

More than 360,000 Ukrainians have fled the country since the beginning of Moscow’s assault, the UN said

PMB Expresses Worry Over Treatment Of Nigerians, Africans Fleeing Ukraine Through Poland

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday expressed worry over a ill-treatment meted in Nigerians nationals and citizens of other African countries trying to flee troubled Ukraine through Poland.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President media and publicity, Garba Shehu called for equal treatment for everyone scampering for safety in the war zone.

The president noted that all those who flee a conflict situation have the same right to safe passage under UN Convention and the colour of their passport or their skin should make no difference.

“But, for that reason, it is paramount that everyone is treated with dignity and without favour,” the president said.

“While efforts to begin talks between Russia and Ukraine are underway, paramount on our minds is the safety and human rights of some four thousand Nigerian citizens and many others from friendly African nations today stranded in Ukraine.

“There is a long history dating back to decades of Nigerians and other Africans studying in Ukraine, particularly medicine. The majority of Nigerian citizens in the country today are university-enrolled students.

“From video evidence, first-hand reports, and from those in contact with their wards and/or Nigerian consular officials there have been unfortunate reports of Ukrainian police and security personnel refusing to allow Nigerians to board buses and trains heading towards the Ukraine-Poland border.

“In one video widely circulating on social media, a Nigerian mother with her young baby was filmed being physically forced to give up her seat to another person.

“There are also separate reports of Polish officials simply refusing Nigerian citizens’ entry into Poland from Ukraine,” the president said.

According to the statement, one group of Nigerian students having been repeatedly refused entry into Poland have concluded they have no choice but to travel again across Ukraine and attempt to exit the country via the border with Hungary.

“We understand the pain and fear that is confronting all people who find themselves in this terrifying place.

We also appreciate that those in official positions in security and border management will in most cases be experiencing impossible expectations in a situation they never expected.

“As a nation, we are proud of those educated in Kyiv and Kharkiv and other cities and centres of learning who have returned to Nigeria to perform great service for our nation and our people.

“Without the generosity of spirit of the Ukrainian people that would never have been possible,” he added.

President Buhari, however, prayed for those directly affected by this conflict as he said Nigeria, with it’s 200 million people, support all and every diplomatic effort to bring this war to an end.

Ukraine Will ‘Prevail’ Amid Russia’s Assault, Says foreign Minister

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Russia’s goal is to “destroy Ukraine as a state, but we will not fall,” Kuleba said in a televised address.

“This is a war between President Putin and the people of Ukraine. We are determined to fight back fiercely as long as it is needed, to defend our land and our people … and I am sure that we will prevail. We will not give up a single inch of our territory,” he added.

France Closes Airspace To Russian Aircraft

France has announced that it will follow other European countries in shutting its airspace to Russian aircraft to punish the country for invading Ukraine.

“France is shutting its airspace to all Russian aircraft and airlines from this evening on,” Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari tweeted.

Kyiv’s defence Holding Firm, Says Mayor

Kyiv’s mayor says there are no Russian troops in the Ukrainian capital, adding the city’s defence is holding firm against attacks from Moscow’s forces.

“Our military, law enforcement and territorial defence continue to detect and neutralise saboteurs,” Vitali Klitschko wrote on his Telegram messaging channel.

Ukraine Has Full Control Of Kharkiv, Regional Official Claims

Ukraine has full control of Kharkiv, Sinegubov said.

“Control over Kharkiv is completely ours! The armed forces, the police, and the defense forces are working, and the city is being completely cleansed of the enemy,” he wrote on the Telegram messaging service.

Al Jazeera was unable to independently verify the regional governor’s claim.

Over 360,000 Ukrainians Flee Country

At least 368,000 people have now fled Ukraine into Poland and other neighbouring countries in the wake of Russia’s invasion, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) says.

The number has risen rapidly since Moscow launched its onslaught and is expected to continue to climb quickly.

More European States Bar Russian Planes

A string of European countries, including Germany and Finland, have said they are preparing to close their airspace to Russian planes, mirroring measures already taken by other states on the continent.

Sweden, Denmark and Iceland were alongside Berlin and Helsinki as the latest to take action.

Germany said its ban will last for three months and apply to all Russian flights from 14:00 GMT yesterday as the screws tighten on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. Only humanitarian flights will be exempt from Berlin’s measure.

The United Kingdom, Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Romania, as well as Baltic states Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, have also moved to shutter their airspace to Russian planes.

Greece To send Defence Supplies To Ukraine

Greece is sending defence supplies to Ukraine in response to a request from Kyiv, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s office said.

Two C-130 military transport planes will carry the supplies to Poland, from where they will be transported onwards to Ukraine, the office said.

The move comes after Athens said on Saturday that 10 Greek nationals had been killed and six others wounded by Russian bombings near the city of Mariupol, in southeastern Ukraine.

EU Should Fund Weapons, Fuel For ‘Heroic’ Ukraine, Says Borrell

The European Union’s foreign policy chief has said he will propose using the bloc’s funds to help finance weapons and other supplies for Ukraine during a meeting of its foreign ministers later.

“I will propose to [EU foreign] ministers to use the European Peace Facility for two emergency assistance measures,” Josep Borrell said in a statement before the virtual meeting.

“These aim to finance the supply of lethal material to the heroic Ukrainian army, which is fighting with fierce resistance against the Russian invaders and provide urgently needed non-lethal supplies, such as fuel.”