Parliament has tasked the government to ensure the immediate evacuation of Ghanaian students currently stranded in Ukraine.
Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin who supported the call for evacuation of the stranded students reminded the house funds are required for such exercises thus the need for the Minority to support the passage of the controversial E-Levy.
Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu on the floor called on the government to take immediate action to bring back the stranded citizens.
The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has also written to the government to consider evacuating Ghanaian students in the east of Ukraine, the nerve center of the geopolitical turmoil with Russia.
In a statement, NUGS said, “As the mother body of Ghanaian students, the safety of our students remains our paramount concern, hence our advocacy for this line of action.”
President of NUGS-Ukraine, Philip Ansah in an interview on the Happy Morning Show with Samuel Eshun disclosed that Ghana does not have an Embassy in Ukraine so Ghanaians in Ukraine operate under Switzerland.
“We kept pushing but they told us that until they hear a directive from the Ministry in Accra they cannot issue anything to us on their accord,” he added.
However, thousands of Africans studying in Ukraine are desperate to leave as Russia invades the country.
“Everyone is under pressure, there have been explosions in different cities, including my city Kyiv,” said 23-year-old Nigerian student Sarah Ajifa Idachaba, who is studying medicine in the Ukraine capital along with her older sister.
“Me and my sister are in a panic because we don’t know what to expect. We are not safe and we are not sure about leaving here because the airport is shut down,” Idachabe told DW, speaking shortly after Russia launched an invasion of the country early on Thursday morning.
Russia has begun a large-scale military attack on Ukraine, its southern neighbour, on the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In a televised speech at 05:55 Moscow time (02:55 GMT), Mr. Putin announced a “military operation” in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. This area is home to many Russian-speaking Ukrainians. Parts of it has been occupied and run by Russian-backed rebels since 2014.
Mr Putin said Russia was intervening as an act of self-defense. Russia did not want to occupy Ukraine, he said, but would demilitarise and “de-Nazify” the country.
He urged Ukrainian soldiers in the combat zone to lay down their weapons and go home and warned Ukraine that it would be blamed for any bloodshed.
