No fewer than 350 Nigerian students risk their
lives everyday as they remain trapped in South-
Eastern regions of Ukraine, where the clashes
between the National Guard and separatists are
continuing for fifth month in a row, despite the
truce negotiated in Minsk, Belarus, on
September 5, 2014.
According to the statement by the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, quoted by SaharaReporters on
September 11, 2014, Thursday, the situation with
safety of Nigerian nationals, who undergo
courses in higher education institutions situated
in the war zones, remains complicated in the
regions of Luhansk and Donetsk
The Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science,
in its return, urges all the students to prepare
such information as 1) name; 2) passport
number; 3) institution name; 4) course name and
the year of study and alternative universities
within Ukraine. These details have to be
forwarded either to Nigerian Embassy in Kiev,
the capital of Ukraine, or to the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, East and Central European
affairs division, Abuja.
These data would ensure the possibility of
transferring students to universities at safe and
peaceful areas in western and central regions of
Ukraine. The process will be supervised by the
Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science.
In 2013/14 academic year, the total number of
Nigerians studying at various Ukrainian
institutions in the war zone was around 2,000.
Currently, about 1,650 had either returned home
or had relocated to secure regions of the
European country during the summer break.
The academic activities resumed in Ukraine on
September 1, 2014. However, they are far from
being safe due to fighting in the area.
Armoured vehicles are widely used by both
sides of the conflict in Ukraine Photo: AFP/BBC.
According to official figures confirmed by the
UN, over 2,600 people have been killed in
Ukraine crisis since April 2014.
The conflict has been transformed from local to
international when Malaysian Airlines flight
MH17 was shot above rebel-controlled area of
Ukraine on July 17, 2014.
MH17 crash site in Ukraine. Photo: AFP/BBC
All 298 passengers of various nationalities,
mainly Dutch citizens, died in the catastrophe.
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