'The exam was stopped 7 times': Foreign students angry at being forced to return to Ukraine for test

Foreign students from African and Asian countries who fled Ukraine when Russia started its illegal invasion have complained they were forced to return to the war-torn country to take key exams.

On 14 March, some of the 76,000 foreign students studying medicine in Ukraine before the war broke out were back in the country to take the final licensing Krok 2 exam in order to secure their diplomas.

Before travelling to the country they were told by the Kyiv Medical University that they were "responsible for their own safety and life" despite the fact that forgoing the trip would endanger years of studies and related expenses. 

"We had to interrupt the exam seven times because of missile alarms. The room was cold and there was almost no light. The exam lasted from 9:00 to 16:00 because of different interruptions and all the 50 people who took the exam with me failed it," S., a Donetsk University medical student from Yemen who took the test in Kyiv, told Euronews.

"I have to retake it without knowing what the situation will be in one year," S. added, requesting anonymity.

According to the Testing Board of the Ukrainian Ministry of Health, students who failed to pass their Krok 2 exam can retake it within three years, although they have to wait at least a year. This means they have to retake their last year and therefore pay the annual tuition fee.

Students with whom Euronews has gotten in contact claimed that their fellows from Zaporizhzhia got the diploma without doing the final exam. 

Contacted by telephone, Zaporizhzhia University didn't provide an explanation about the decision to issue diplomas without an exam and instead referred Euronews to the Ministry of Health. A spokesperson for the Testing Board of the Ukrainian Ministry