Growing tensions between Ukraine and Russia threaten Moroccan students’ safety

Thousands of Moroccan nationals’ lives are threatened over ongoing tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

“Some Ukraine regions account for over 90% of Moroccan students,” said the President of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, Aziz Ghali in a statement to Hespress, adding, “their lives are at risk, as invasion might happen unexpectedly,” he stressed.

The president of the association said the country should deal with nationals in Ukraine the same way it did with Moroccan students living in China during the outbreak of the pandemic.

Ghali stressed the need to organize special flights in order to repatriate nationals, at least a transit to Turkey, so that their travel will be eased, calling on the country to step in, especially since most of them are students.

As of Saturday, the Moroccan Embassy in Ukraine urged its nationals to leave the country for their own safety, through available commercial flights.

The Moroccan Embassy also asked Moroccans to avoid visiting the country, in light of growing tensions between both neighboring countries.

In recent days, many countries urged their citizens to leave Ukraine in order to protect themselves, including the US, the UK, Belgium, Canada, and Saudi Arabia.

Growing tensions between both Eastern European countries have pushed French president Emmanuel Macron to organize a trip to Russia in order to hold talks with President Vladimir Putin and to seek a resolution to issues pertaining to Russia and Ukraine.

Since mid-2021, Russia began massing military presence near the border with Ukraine, representing the highest since the Crimea annexation in 2014.