UN Votes, Demands Russia Ends War as Attacks Intensify in Kharkiv, Others

•Lavrov: World war III would be ‘nuclear and destructive’

•Harris: US troops won’t fight Russians in Ukraine

•Nigeria approves release of $8.5m to evacuate 5,000 stranded citizens

•Two airlines to commence immediate airlift of affected nationals

•First batch to arrive today

•FG grants pre-departure COVID-19 waiver for returnees

Deji Elumoye, Olawale Ajimotokan, Michael Olugbode in Abuja and Chinedu Eze in Lagos with agency report

The United Nations General Assembly yesterday voted 141 to five, with 35 abstentions, to demand Russia halt the war. The vote came after the 193-member assembly convened its first emergency session in a quarter century.

Also, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, yesterday said another World War would be “nuclear and destructive” for all parties and condemned Western sanctions on what he termed Kremlin’s unprovoked war in Ukraine.

However, United States Vice President, Kamala Harris reiterated yesterday that US troops would not fight Russians in Ukraine as the Kremlin continues its advance.

These emerged just as Nigeria’s federal government yesterday approved the release of $8.5 million for immediate evacuation of no fewer than 5,000 Nigerians stranded in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia in the wake of the Russia-Ukranian war.

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Zubairu Dada, who disclosed this to newsmen, after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at Abuja, said the approval was sequel to a joint memo presented by both the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development at a meeting presided over by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo. Dada disclosed that Air Peace and Max Air airlines have been contracted to provide three aircrafts and run as many shifts as possible to airlift the stranded Nigerians.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a televised address to the nation one week into the hostilities, rallied his people and praised them for their resolve.

“During this time, we have truly become one,” Zelenskyy said. “We forgave each other. We started loving each other. We help each other. We are worried for each other.”

In the besieged northeastern city of Kharkiv, Mayor Igor Terekhov said the unrelenting assault has caused “massive destruction.” A rocket strike hit the regional police headquarters, killing four people and wounding several others, Ukraine Emergency Services said.

Russian Foreign Minister: World War III Would Be ‘Nuclear and Destructive’

Lavrov, in an interview with lAl-Jazeera News, claimed Russia would face “real danger” should Ukraine acquire nuclear weapons.

Ukraine has not attempted to acquire nuclear weapons and Russia has provided no evidence to support its claims to the contrary. Putin over the weekend ordered the Kremlin’s nuclear arsenal to be on heightened alert, a provocative step that officials in the Biden administration and NATO allies called reckless. Military aid to Ukraine and more rounds of sanctions, however, did not waver after the escalation.

Lavrov said while Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government had been prepared for the series of stringent economic sanctions levied at Russia since the invasion of Ukraine, they had been caught off-guard by sanctions on athletes and personnel.

Ukraine Raises $270m to Help Fund War

The Ukrainian government has raised $270 million in war bonds after it began issuing the assets to fund its defense of the country from Russian invasion.

Ukraine’s central bank enacted capital controls amid the Russian invasion, making it difficult for foreign investors to participate in the program. That hasn’t stopped many international and local investors from buying the bonds, according to Ukraine’s finance ministry.

“The proceeds from the bonds will be used to meet the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and to ensure the uninterrupted provision of the state’s financial needs under the war,”

The Ukrainian government continues to lobby for stricter sanctions on Russian financial institutions and businesses. Western sanctions on Russia have so far caused the ruble to plummet in value while everyday Russians and economic elites rush to shield their wealth from financial crisis.

Food, medicine and other supplies were being distributed at central locations and by trucks rolling through the city of 1.5 million residents, the mayor said. Efforts were underway to provide heat to lost utilities in the bombing as temperatures dip toward freezing.

“Kharkiv is holding on and will hold on,” Terekhov said on Ukrainian TV. “Today the main goal of our enemy is to sow panic and devastation, but Kharkiv will always stand.”

Russian negotiators are ready to resume talks with Ukrainian officials but cannot “predict whether Ukrainian negotiators will show up or not,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

“Let’s hope this happens,” Peskov said. “Ours will be there and ready.”

Peskov said Putin’s culture adviser Vladimir Medinsky remained the main negotiator for Russia.

Talks held Monday near the Belarus-Ukraine border produced no breakthrough, though the two sides agreed to meet again. It was not clear when talks would continue.

Zelenskyy had accused the Kremlin of trying to force him into concessions by intensifying the invasion.

“Fair negotiations can occur when one side does not hit the other side with rocket artillery at the very moment of negotiations,” he said.

Harris: US Troops Won’t Fight Russians in Ukraine

Appearing on NBC News, Harris also said it would be “irresponsible” to engage in nuclear escalation after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had put the country’s nuclear arsenal on alert.

“Our position is we are not going to contribute to an escalation in that direction and we have no intention of changing our posture,” Harris told NBC News.

Harris made the rounds yesterday across several network morning shows.

“We are not going to put US troops in Ukraine to fight Russians on the ground or in the air, but we are firm in our preparedness to defend our allies,” she said, echoing President Joe Biden’s vow to defend “every inch of NATO territory.”

Ukraine is not a member of NATO, but the US has sent troops to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank.

Nigeria approves release of $8.5m to evacuate 5,000 stranded citizens

Dada disclosed that Air Peace and Max Air airlines have been contracted to provide three aircrafts and run as many shifts as possible to airlift the stranded Nigerians.

He listed the evacuees to include 940 from Romania, 150 from Slovakia and 350 from Poland who have registered for evacuation.

According to him: “The ministry of humanitarian affairs wrote a memo to the President seeking for funding to enable us conduct this exercise. The memo was in the tune of $8.5 million which Mr. President has graciously approved. That provision entails arrangement to evacuate not less than 5,000 Nigerians.

“Whatever happens you can be rest assured we are going to run any number of shifts that it will involve. Don’t forget it will also involve taking care of those Nigerians that may decide not to come back. It also includes some assistance for the feeding that may have been done by the missions under whatever arrangements. Even the missions themselves are also in dire situations. So it’s a whole gambit of activities that are involved.”

Asked if the amount would be released immediately for the exercise, the minister said: “That is why the evacuation flights will begin today (Wednesday).”

On students trapped in Ukrainian cities now in the hands of Russians, Dada said: “We want to believe the Russian armed forces will obey the rules of engagement. They know the rules about civilians that are caught up in situations such as this. We want to assume they will respect international laws and ensure that no harm comes to them.

“Don’t forget that even our missions in Ukraine has had to be evacuated. So, if for any reason any Nigerian is left behind, we are very prayerful, we are very hopeful that no harm shall come to them once of course they are in some shelters or whatever place they are hiding.

“Don’t forget we had also summoned both the Russian and Ukrainian ambassadors to our ministry, and we did emphasis the need for their troops to ensure that they do not do anything that will harm the lives of innocent citizens.

“We have seen video clips making the rounds about the alleged treatment that had been meted out to black people who were on queues and in buses and all that. All these we have brought to the attention of the ambassadors and we have expressed our displeasure at this development and demanded that they do something about this.”

On her part, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, in a statement yesterday, said the federal government was working round the clock to ensure the safe return of Nigerian students and other citizens caught up in the war in Ukraine.

Farouq also stated that Buhari had directed her ministry to work with all relevant agencies to ensure this was done quickly and expeditiously.

She added that relevant agencies under the Ministry that included the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) have been directed to work closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure smooth evacuation.

She said the National Emergency Management Agency would lead the evacuation process while the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs would provide the coordination and necessary support.

She urged all parents to remain calm, stressing that the federal government was doing all it could to ensure that Nigerians return in safety and dignity as soon as possible.

She called on all Nigerians in Ukraine to be guided by the advisories regularly issued by the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs at all times.

Meanwhile, the first batch of Nigerians in the war-torn Ukraine were expected to arrive the country today. This was confirmed by the two Nigerian carriers, Air Peace and Max Air designated by the federal government to airlift them.

The two airlines confirmed that they deployed aircraft yesterday to the capitals of the three European countries to bring back the Nigerians.

“We can confirm that chartered flights will depart on Wednesday, March 2, 2022 to pick Nigerian evacuees back home. So far, we have the following records of evacuees received by Nigerian embassies at Hungary (650 persons), Poland (350 persons), Romania (940 persons) and Slovakia (150 persons),” a statement revealed.

The ministry of foreign affair further stated in the statement: “The capacity and route of the airlines are as follows: Max Air to Romania 560 persons, Air Peace to Poland 364 persons, and Air Peace to 360 persons. The first batch of evacuees is expected to arrive Nigeria on Thursday, March 3, 2022.”

The Chief Operating Officer of Air Peace, Mrs. Toyin Olajide said the airline deployed two of its Boeing B777 last night to Bucharest and Warsaw, the capital of Hungary and Poland respectively to bring the Nigerians home and the flights would land in Lagos.

Max Air also confirmed that its flight to Romania left Nigeria by 11:00 pm yesterday.

FG Grants Pre-departure COVID-19 Waiver for Ukraine Returnees

The federal government has granted Nigerians returning from Ukraine waiver from the 48 hours pre-departure COVID-19 PCR test requirements.

This was disclosed in a letter by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA) signed by the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Musa Nuhu and addressed to all airlines operating international to Nigeria.

Titled: ‘Waiver from pre-departure COVID-19 quarantine protocols for Nigerian returnees from Ukraine,’ the letter reads “In view of the ongoing hostilities in Ukraine, the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) has directed that airlines board passengers travelling to Nigeria with proof of having left Ukraine under the following conditions:

“Waiver from the 48 hours pre-departure COVID-19 PCR test requirements and waiver from the requirement to pre-departure filling of the Nigeria International Travel Portal (NITP), payment for repeat test in Nigeria and generation of permit to fly/QR code.”

The letter also stated that passengers would however be required to fill the Nigeria International Travel Portal (NITP) upon their arrival in Nigeria with the assistance of the Port Health Services.

“Upon arriving in Nigeria, passengers will be directed by the Port Health Services to designated government laboratories for COVID-19 tests. The COVID-19 PCR tests which must be done within 24 hours of arrival will be at no cost to the passengers,” the letter added.

Evacuation Only for Documented Nigerians, Says FG

However, the federal government yesterday said the evacuation would be for only documented Nigerians, explaining that any undocumented Nigerian would first have to set his or her record right with the nation’s embassies in Romania, Poland and Hungary.

A statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday, signed by its spokesperson, Francisca Omayuli read:

“The federal government of Nigeria wishes to inform that arrangements are being concluded for the evacuation of the first batch of Nigerian nationals willing to return home via Romania, Poland and Hungary.

“Intending evacuees should kindly note that only persons documented with the Nigerian Embassies will be eligible for evacuation. Consequently, those yet to register for the exercise are advised to do so, as it is a mandatory requirement.

“Those without passports will be issued Emergency Travel Certificates (ETC) to enable them travel back home.”