Thousands of African students who went to Ukraine to train to become doctors and engineers scramble to escape the Russian offensive

Thousands of African students across the country were trapped by the fighting and afraid for their safety.

Korrine Sky, a second-year medical student in Dnipro, told Insider that she has coordinated hundreds of African students across the country as they scramble to find a way out.

Sky said they were not getting help from any of the embassies. They have told them to save themselves.

Thousands of African students study medicine, engineering, and other technical fields in Ukraine at affordable prices compared with the rest of Europe and the United States.

The education ministry says that over 16,000 students from over a dozen countries have gone to Ukraine.

Vukile Dlamini, a South African student, told Insider that when Russia launched its offensive, she woke up to the sounds of sirens and bombs.

She said that when the sirens went off, they ran to the bomb-proof Bunker until the coast was clear.

Dlamini said that she was going to try and leave the country with other South African students.

We are several hours away from the border and we are trying to stay calm.

African students are traveling in buses with flags so that Russians don't mistake their movements at night as a threat.

Many African students are feeling abandoned as cities across Ukraine are attacked.

—Vukile Dlamini (@vukiledlamini19) February 24, 2022

—Duke of Gqebera 🇺🇦 (@luphumloMacebo) February 25, 2022

Some African embassies have urged their citizens to try and keep safe in Ukraine, but they have not provided any plans to evacuate them.

Nigerian student unions in Ukraine have tried to contact their embassy in Kyiv, but have not received a response.

Sky and other students are using resources from other countries to find ways out of the country.

Sky said she has located over 400 African students and added them to chat services.

She said that the community waswarming to witness.

With flights out of the country grounded, the most common way to leave is to cross the border into countries like Poland and Romania.

Some African students are having trouble getting on buses to the border.

Some people have gone to get buses, but they aren't allowing Black people on the buses. They are focusing on Ukrainians. Sky said that is what they say.

Sky, a British citizen of African heritage, has not been able to get a visa for her fianc. African students face additional difficulties because they don't have European citizenship.

foreigners without a valid visa can enter the country and stay for up to 15 days, according to the Polish government.

Sky and her fianc began their journey to Poland by car on Friday with the uncertainty of what the future holds.

We were supposed to get married tomorrow, Sky said.