23-year-old Nigerian Medical Student Dies from Injuries Sustained in Russian Airstrike on Ukraine

Chiemelie Ezeobi

Kharkiv National Medical University, on Sunday, announced the death of 23-year-old Nigerian medical student, Adaobi Marian Nnani, who on July 5, 2026, succumbed to injuries sustained during a recent Russian airstrike on Ukraine.

Nnani, who was just days away from graduation, was critically wounded in a Russian strike on Kharkiv while travelling with her friend, Fatima Huseynova, for a graduation photoshoot.

The duo was due to receive their medical degrees the following day.

Fatima was killed in the attack, while Nnani was initially treated in Kharkiv before being transferred to Germany, where doctors fought to save her life.

According to the university, Nnani enrolled in 2020 to study medicine and distinguished herself as a dedicated, talented and compassionate student with an outstanding academic record.

During her studies, she pursued international academic opportunities, including internships at the University of Cambridge in 2024 and Turkey’s Biruni University in 2025, where she expanded her medical knowledge, strengthened her clinical skills and participated in scientific research.

Online reports indicate that Russian forces dropped aerial bombs on the Kholodnohirskyi district of Kharkiv on June 29, reportedly killing 14 people across the Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions and injuring 98 others.

In a statement, the university said, “As a result of enemy shelling, Nnani Adaobi Marian was seriously injured. Doctors fought for her life until the last moment: first in Kharkiv, and later in Germany.

“Everyone sympathised, helped and hoped for her recovery, but, unfortunately, despite all the efforts of the doctors, they could not save her.”

The institution described her as a capable, responsible and hardworking student who consistently excelled academically.

“Nnani Adaobi Marian was a bright, sincere and kind-hearted person. She easily found common ground with people and was distinguished by her thirst for knowledge, hard work and sincere desire to help others.”

Extending its condolences to her family, friends and classmates, Kharkiv National Medical University said it would honour her memory as an integral part of the university community.