Russia, Ukraine offer stranded Nigerian students, others in Sumy ‘humanitarian corridor’ for evacuation

*The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has disclosed a ‘humanitarian corridor’ for evacuation of trapped civilians, including Nigerian and foreign students, from Sumy to Poltava has been agreed with Russia, just as the United Nations Refugee agency discloses that over 140,000 additional people have fled war-torn Ukraine in 24 hours

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

There is some relief as buses are arriving to evacuate Nigerian and other international students still trapped in the Sumy State University (SumDU) and other civilians in the Ukrainian city of Sumy.

ConsumerConnect gathered this development was sequel to a recent ceasefire agreement between Ukraine and Russia for a humanitarian corridor to be opened in Sumy in the war-torn European country.

However, ceasefire, which started at 10a.m. Tuesday, March 8, 2022, would end by 9 p.m.same day, agency report said.

The temporary peace accord was expected to allow civilians and all international students to flee through “specified routes” to the neighbouring state of Poltava, report stated.

The agreement required both warring parties to pause the fighting during the period.

About 380 trapped Nigerian students were facing food and water shortages in Sumy as of Friday, March 4, but several of them had reportedly managed to flee the city since then.

It was learnt that eight of the trapped young Nigerians had dodged Russian soldiers and armoured tanks between Sunday and Monday as they fled westwards to the train station in Myrhorod, a city in the Poltava Oblast (province) of central Ukraine.

Airstrikes by Russian forces, nevertheless, killed 20 people in the city overnight, according to report.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in a post via its verified Twitter account disclosed that the humanitarian corridor is from Sumy through Holubivka through Lokhvytsia through Lubny to Poltava.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that humanitarian cargo route is from Lokhvytsia through Andriyashivka through Romny through Nedryhailiv to Sumy.

The MFA further stated: “A humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians, including foreign students, from Sumy to Poltava has been agreed today.

“We call on Russia to uphold its ceasefire commitment, to refrain from activities that endanger the lives of people and to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid.”

Over 140,000 people flee Ukraine in 24 Hours, says UN

Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) has said that the number of refugees fleeing Ukraine increased by more than 140,000 in 24 hours Wednesday, with over 2.15 million now having fled since Russia invaded February 24.

Specifically, the UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, recorded 2,155,271 refugees on its dedicated web site — 143,959 more than the previous count on Tuesday.

“Behind the monolithic statistics are two million stories of separation, anguish, and loss,” UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi said.

Families have been “senselessly ripped apart”, plunged into “despair and unimaginable suffering” by the “brutal war”, he said.

Authorities and the UN expect the flow to intensify as the Russian army advances deeper into Ukraine, particularly as it approaches the capital, Kyiv, according to AFP.

However, before Russia invaded, more than 37 million people lived in Ukrainian territory under the control of the central government.

Besides those who have left, an unknown number have been displaced from their homes within the country.

Here is a breakdown of where refugees from Ukraine are, according to the UN Refugee Agency:

More than half of those who have fled Ukraine are now in Poland, with the UNHCR saying 1,294,903 refugees are now in the country.

Poland has championed the cause of Ukrainian refugees. The government has set up reception centres and charities have mobilised in a massive aid effort, helped by the estimated 1.5 million Ukrainians already living in the EU member state.

Elsewhere in Europe

Some 235,745 people who have fled Ukraine have now moved beyond neighbouring states to other European countries, according to the UNHCR.

Hungary

Some 203,222 refugees are now in Hungary — nearly 10 percent of the total who have fled Ukraine. The number was up 11,874 on Tuesday’s figure.

The country has five border crossings with Ukraine and several border towns, including Zahony, have turned public buildings into relief centres, where Hungarian civilians are offering food or assistance.

Slovakia

Across Ukraine’s shortest border, some 153,303 refugees are now in Slovakia.

Russia

The UNHCR says the number of refugees who have crossed Ukraine’s longest border into Russia since the invasion is 99,300.

An additional 96,000 people moved to Russia from the separatist eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions between February 18 and 23, in the days before the Russian invasion, according to the UN refugee agency.

Romania

Some 85,444 refugees from Ukraine are now in Romania. Two camps have been set up, one in Sighetu Marmatiei and the other in Siret.

Moldova 

Some 82,762 refugees were now in Moldova, according to figures updated to the end of Sunday, though many thousands more have passed through the non-EU state on their way to other countries.

By the end of Sunday, Moldova had welcomed 259,000 refugees coming from Ukraine, including 230,000 Ukrainians.

“Over 147,000 Ukrainian refugees have since then proceeded to Romania,” UNHCR said.

Belarus

Some 592 refugees had made it to Belarus, according to UNCHR.

Kindly Share This Story