An Economist and International Evangelist, Dr. Lawrence Tetteh has urged Ghanaian students living in Ukraine to take advantage of government’s evacuation exercise.

His comment follows recent reports that some Ghanaians have refused to return home from Ukraine although the government procured tickets for their flight.

Speaking on JoyNews' The Pulse on Tuesday, he said if the students refuse to take advantage of the gesture, they will be stranded when the evacuation exercise ends.

Dr. Tetteh indicated that students who refuse to be evacuated by the government may have their immigration records destroyed, which means it could a long time to obtain a visa to re-enter the country when the prevailing situation is resolved.

He explained that the current happening in Ukraine is ‘very dicey’ and called on parents whose wards are out there to advise them to ‘wise up’ to join the evacuation process.

“A lot of young men and women are listening to other voices and are creating an imaginary situation for themselves that doesn’t exit,” he said.

He added that “Ukraine is not a Schengen country. Therefore, the visa you get for Ukraine only remains in Ukraine. Hungary is a Schengen country, so Hungarian visa will take you to the whole of Europe, Czech Republic is a Schengen Country,  but Ukraine is not. So most people studying in Ukraine are a bit limited.”

The Foreign Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey in a meeting with relatives of Ghanaians in and around Ukraine implored them to encourage their wards take advantage of this evacuation exercise to return to Ghana.

Since last week, there have been concerns as to how the government would evacuate Ghanaians from the distressed country, after Russia’s invasion.

The Ministry subsequently disclosed that as of March 1, about 500 Ghanaians have been evacuated from Ukraine to neighbouring countries.

According to information gathered by the Ministry, these countries include Poland, Romania, Hungary, Moldova, and Slovakia.

Meanwhile, the first batch of Ghanaian nationals evacuated from Ukraine, including students, has arrived in Accra on Tuesday.

These persons were rescued through neighbouring countries by land due to the shutdown of Ukraine’s airspace since the beginning of the unrest in the country.