BBC News War in Ukraine

Jerry Kenny/BBCCopyright: Jerry Kenny/BBC

Nigerian students trapped in Kherson, a southern Ukrainian city occupied by Russian troops, say they have been left traumatised after two weeks sheltering underground, and want their home nation to act swiftly.

Jerry Kenny told the BBC that he and six of his friends had fallen sick because of the poor conditions below ground and said had no access to food and other essentials.

"Some people can’t even talk because they are scared," he said, adding that the Nigerian government had not "reached out to us in terms of food or water, nothing".

"I've spoken to so many representatives, ambassadors and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be evacuated. But we are still stuck here," he said.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffery Onyeama said at the weekend that he was in contact with Nigeria’s ambassadors to Ukraine and Russia, as they engaged the Russian and Indian governments as well as non-governmental organisations to safely evacuate the students trapped in Kherson.

Reports say more than 100 African students, many of them from Nigeria, remain stuck in Kherson.

So far, more than 1,400 Nigerians have been evacuated from Ukraine since the Russian invasion began there three weeks ago.

Jerry Kenny/BBCCopyright: Jerry Kenny/BBC

Jerry Kenny/BBCCopyright: Jerry Kenny/BBC

Days after a deadly attack on a maternity hospital in Ukraine's southern port city of Mariupol, the city's biggest hospital has been captured and 400 patients and staff are being treated like hostages, officials say.

Regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko says the regional intensive care hospital, on the western outskirts of Mariupol, was all but destroyed the other day but staff continued to treat patients in the basement.

He has quoted one hospital employee as saying: "The Russians forced 400 people from neighbouring houses to come to our hospital. We can't leave."

Donetsk regional governorCopyright: Donetsk regional governor

Authorities say at least 2,400 civilians have already been killed since Russia's bombardment of the city began. Many of Mariupol's residents are trying to survive in underground shelters.

One human rights group accuses Russian soldiers of threatening to shoot anyone who leaves the hospital, and anyone who has tried to get out has been shot and wounded.

You can read more about the terrible conditions in Mariupol here.