As the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia gains momentum, Ukrainians were accused of racism by social media users after clips of Africans being denied train boarding surfaced. Following the Russian invasion, several Ukrainians have fled the country.
Calling the Ukrainian invasion a 'special military operation', Putin said that the decision was made in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years." He also claimed that Moscow does not plan to occupy Ukrainian territories.
Videos Show Africans Being Stranded on the Station, Roads
As per the education ministry, Morocco, Nigeria and Egypt are among the top 10 countries with foreign students in Ukraine, together supplying over 16,000 students.
Speaking to the Business Insider, Korrine Sky, a second-year medical student in Dnipro, said that she has coordinated with several African students as they try to find a way out of the war torn country. "I'm very, very afraid. We're not getting any help from any of the embassies. They have pretty much just said, 'save yourselves,'" Sky said.
The outlet also reported that in wake of the ongoing conflict, the Polish government has permitted foreigners, without a valid visa, to enter the country and stay for a fortnight.
A video which has been viewed over 2 million times shows a large group of black people being stopped from boarding a train from a station. Posted by Twitter user @Damilare_arah, the video is captioned, "The official visuals of Ukrainians blocking Africans from getting on trains. #AfricansinUkraine"
The user posted another video showing hundreds of Africans stranded on the roads. "#AfricansinUkraine the community of Africans in Ukraine stranded at the boarder much of them women and children. — This is happening now The lady in the video is holding a 2 month old and it's 3°c outside we are in search of aid and hostels," read the tweet accompanying the video.
Visuals Leave Social Media Users Angry
The visuals shared widely on the social media left many of its users, who went on to accuse the Ukrainians as racist.
"Really disturbing to see Africans in Ukraine prevented from crossing the border to safety and being blocked from getting on trains. This is wrong. Refugees are refugees and they should all be allowed to cross to safety. #AfricansinUkraine," wrote a user.
"So Ukraine won't let our black brothers and sisters, women and children out the boarder knowing full well Russia can attack at any minute. Early signs of racial genocide and ethnic cleansing. It's very much giving Hitler vibes! I always knew Ukraine was racist!" tweeted a user.
"While many of you are asking ppl to pray for #Ukraine, look at how they're treating Black ppl there trying to leave! Pray for RACISTS?! No, thanks!" opined another user.
Racism at its peak yet there are Africans standing with Ukraine https://t.co/85rku7FxTa
— @OnlyonePaul75 (@OnlyonePaul75) February 27, 2022
