AFRICAN STUDENTS remain trapped in the northern Ukraine town of Sumy, which is coming under heavy shelling from invading Russian forces.

News reports suggest all Indian students have now left the town, and a proportion of black students have also been evacuated, but some remain.

One student, Chinedu, told DW Africa that Chinese students had been evacuated but the rescuers would not take Africans.

He said that people were profiteering by charging students exorbitant amounts to take them a short distance.

On the 13th day of war, there were reliable sources that over 350 Nigerian students, and 100 other African students from Namibia, Zambia and South Africa had made it to safety.

Yet according to the latest reports there are an unknown number of African students still trapped in Sumy, and anger is growing.

In one video, a group of African students can be seen protesting in the snow and criticising the amounts they have been quoted to ferry them towards safety.

One student, Samuel Otunla, told the BBC he was living in fear in a basement along with 60 other international students.

A convoy of civilians leaving Sumy had to turn back after coming under shelling from Vladimir Putin’s forces, and that 19 adults and two children had died in Sumy following rocket attacks.

Earlier today, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the British houses of parliament but neglected to mention the plight of African and other international students.