The Russian Embassy in Nigeria has responded to the death of 23-year-old Nigerian medical graduate, Marian Nnani, condoling with her family but denying allegations that the tragedy was instigated by Russian personnel.
The embassy stated in a statement Tuesday that it had taken note of allegations by multiple Nigerian media organisations that the student died as a result of Russian military activities in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
The embassy sent condolences to the family and friends of the deceased, calling it a “irreparable loss”, but stressed that there is no definitive proof that the student’s death is linked to Russian military operations.
The country’s aviation authority said enquiries into the event are still ongoing and urged against jumping to conclusions before the facts are ascertained.
“There is currently no confirmed information about who was really behind the death of the student,” the Embassy stresses in the statement.
The Russian envoy repeated its long-standing view that the Russian Armed Forces carry out only precision strikes against military objectives and do not deliberately harm civilians and civilian infrastructure.
It further said that civilian casualties in the conflict are often due to the operations of Ukrainian air defence systems.
The embassy also condemned what it called one-sided reporting by the Nigerian media, which it said was criticising Russia, without documentary evidence, while ignoring acts it said were committed by Ukrainian forces.
As an example, the embassy mentioned the attack on the Lugansk State Pedagogical University College in Starobelsk on May 22, 2026, in which 21 students were killed in what it called a planned action by Ukrainian authorities.
The declaration comes after Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed Marian Nnani died from injuries sustained in an aircraft attack in Kharkiv.
The ministry had conveyed condolences to her family, stated Nigerian missions in Ukraine and Germany were providing consular assistance and repeated Nigeria’s request for an immediate cease of hostilities and a peaceful conclusion of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The Russian Embassy pointed out that the circumstances of the Nigerian student’s death are still being investigated and that culpability should be established only after official findings.
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