Hundreds of international students trapped in the Ukrainian city of Sumy by Russia’s invasion have appealed to the world: “Help us, we are stranded.”
Vivian Udenze, 21, a Nigerian medical student at Sumy State University told CNN: “This is the 8th day since the crisis began. A lot of places have been evacuated. There are more than 600 of us who are foreigners and students.”
She said most of the group are medical students, and they are from Nigeria, Morocco, Tanzania, Congo and India, among other countries.
Sumy lies in the northeast of Ukraine, only around 30 miles from the border with Russia.
As fierce battles between Russian and Ukrainian forces rage across the country, Udenze told CNN via phone that she woke up to two loud explosions around 8 a.m. on Wednesday, and heard gunshots on Thursday. “I am so scared and time is running out. “We don’t want the Russians to enter the city and meet us here. We need a humanitarian corridor so we can get out,” she said.
As the second round of talks between a delegation from Russia and Ukraine in Belarus ended Thursday, the head of Russian delegation Vladimir Medinsky told Russian media the two sides have agreed on humanitarian corridors for civilians.
Udenze later told CNN that more explosions were heard on Thursday evening at around 6 30 p.m local time. The students no longer have electricity or water following the blast, she said.
Udenze later told CNN that more explosions were heard on Thursday evening at around 6 30 p.m local time. The students no longer have electricity or water following the blast, she said.
Complicating the students’ escape is the fact that there’s no public transportation available in Suny, which has come over heavy fire in recent days, leaving roads and bridges destroyed.
Fifth-year medical student and Indian national, Shivangi Shibu shared a similar story Thursday. “We just heard some sirens. The situation is going to get worse very soon over here. We don’t have any other options so we just have to run to bunkers,” she told CNN over the phone.
“No one is talking about Sumy. I hope we will be evacuated soon because we don’t want to be a casualty of this war. We don’t deserve this,” Shibu added.
“This is our second home but we still need our family. We need to see them. We don’t want to be involved with this politics … The [only] solution is … to allow us to go via the Russian border because we cannot travel to any other destination.”
CNN