A LOT of Ghanaians are stranded in Ukraine as a result of Russia’s invasion yesterday. From a bunker, I bring you this report.
I normally wake up at dawn to study, and I set an alarm on my phone to help me track the time. But today, something else woke me up. I could not believe my ears. Could it perhaps be fireworks (knockout as we popularly call it)? But the sound was loud and vehement. Friends from different parts of the city started calling me. It made me wake up fully. We later got to know it was an attack from the Russians.
Sorry for being rude, my name is Clemet Kojo Acquah, a former resident of the Tarkwa municipality, presently a medical student at Kharkiv National Medical University, living in the eastern part of Ukraine (Kharkiv city), a part called Peremoga, and a scholarship beneficiary from the Ghana Scholarships Secretariat. Peremoga is just 20 minutes’ drive to the Russian border. Some of the cities close by are Poltava, Sumy State, Kramatorsk and of course the controversial Donetsk and Luhansk.
So back to the story, today around 4am, we heard a loud sound that we later got to know were bomb attacks. We were very terrified, some people started packing their things and wanted to go to a different city for refuge, but we were later told there were bomb attacks on about five cities simultaneously (Kiev, Kharkov, Odessa, Kramatorsk and Mariupol). We have now packed a few things, with our passports and other relevant documents in case we need to move, then we do. The borders have been closed for now, there are no flights coming nor leaving. All those who were supposed to leave the country today were disappointed and left stranded at the airport for obvious reasons.
A video interview I watched of the Russian President, Mr Vladimir Putin, suggests that they are not backing down. He has even warned other countries not to interfere, else there will be consequences. For now, Ukraine has not responded aggressively, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a video he posted on his Instagram page, said they are not scared to defend their land. This is a clear indication of a future escalation of something that has just begun. They have provided bomb shelters at vantage points and warned that we go there in case of further aggression.
We, therefore, call upon the government of Ghana, to hasten any measures it has for the Ghanaian community in Ukraine.