Russia’s War Creates Panic Among Foreign Nationals in Ukraine, Ghanaian Students Seek Evacuation

Following reports of Ghanaian Students studying in Ukraine living in fear in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war that broke out early Thursday, February 24, the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), has called on the government to evacuate Ghanaian Students and bring them home.

NUGS president, Emmanuel Boakye Yiadom, writing on his Twitter handle, urged the government to treat the matter with the needy urgency.   

Joseph, a Ghanaian medical student in Ukraine who spoke on an Accra-based Joy TV Super Morning Show lamented that the situation had left them in fear and anxiety. He indicated that they had to struggle to secure basic food items for the day due to the Russian invasion.

According to him, at the time of granting the interview, shops had run out of stock, making it difficult to get food items to buy.

“When I got to the shop it was very full and there were only a few bottles of water and I wanted to buy bread, but people had bought all the bread from the shop”, he said.

He said the situation was dire such that it has left many other nationals, particularly foreign students in fear.

“As I’m talking to you now, I can’t control my tears. Last night, when I was learning, I heard the first explosion, it was as if it was at the back of our hostel. Now, I don’t know what will happen next,” he said.

The Ghanaian government has so far been engaging the authorities and relevant diplomatic missions on measures to protect Ghanaian students and nationals.

“The Government of Ghana is gravely concerned about the security and safety of our over 1,000 students and other Ghanaians in Ukraine and has asked them to shelter in place in their homes or in government places of shelter”, Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, posted on her Twitter page.

Ghana has also condemned the attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a United Nations Member State and called on Russia to withdraw and end the war.