Guardian – International students studying at medical schools in Dnipro are seeking routes out of Ukraine as Russian troops move across the country.
Explosions were heard in the central Ukrainian city early on Thursday morning after Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale offensive on the country.
About 2,000 foreign nationals study at Dnipro Medical Institute, a number of whom responded to a Guardian callout for voices on the ground.
Rita Ansah, a 20-year-old medical student from Ghana, has lived in Dnipro since 2019. The Ghanaian embassy arranged for buses to transport students to Romania, she said, but they were cancelled on Friday afternoon after drivers refused to undertake the journey.
She said she had since been told by the embassy to organise her own route out of the country.
“I’m feeling quite alone,” she told the Guardian from student accommodation near the city centre.
“Most of the people on my floor are Ukrainians and Moroccans, so we don’t speak a common language. Right now I’m just focusing on packing, although I will have to leave most of my clothes behind. We have been advised to only take a small backpack.”
Her plan is to book a public bus to Poland leaving on Monday, for $50, which is thought to be the safest form of travel as rail lines may be bombing targets.