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Nigerians Await Visas to Join Ukraine War
Bohdan Soltys, Second Secretary at the Ukrainian Embassy to Nigeria, has disclosed that a list of those willing to fight for Ukraine has been sent to Kyiv.
The Secretary revealed that about 100 Nigerians have willingly requested to be drafted to fight in the war against the Russian invasion. Speaking to newsmen, the secretary revealed: “About 100 people wrote to us and said they would like to do this. We have transferred the information to the Ukrainian government and so far we have not received any feedback and (a) positive response.”
This update is in response to The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba’s tweet where he asked foreigners to help fight for Ukraine’s sovereignty against Russia’s attack. His tweet read: “Foreigners willing to defend Ukraine and world order as part of the International Legion of Territorial Defence of Ukraine, I invite you to contact foreign diplomatic missions of Ukraine in your respective countries. Together we defeated Hitler, and we will defeat Putin, too.”
Foreigners willing to defend Ukraine and world order as part of the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine, I invite you to contact foreign diplomatic missions of Ukraine in your respective countries. Together we defeated Hitler, and we will defeat Putin, too.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) February 27, 2022
Secretary Bohdan, however, noted that women are not allowed to fight in the war for now.
Although the Ukrainian government have closed its airspace, foreigners interested in fighting for Ukraine will have to use land borders in Romania, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. However, while Nigerians may have requested to join in the fight, Secretary Bohdan also pointed out that it may take longer before Nigerians can get to Ukraine as Nigerians still need to get visas to most European countries.
Speaking about visas, the secretary said: “There are also challenges because you cannot fly directly to Ukraine only to those countries bordering Ukraine but some of these people need visas and you need to get in touch with some of these countries. So, it is not like you can apply today and be in Ukraine tomorrow. Nigerians need visas to all the European countries.”
In an earlier update, Nigeria has already aligned with 140 other countries to demand Russian troops be withdrawn from Ukraine. This is after a United Nations General Assembly that saw the adoption of a resolution of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis on Wednesday, 2nd March.