The Ukrainian and Jamaican flags, created from free Canva elements. It’s a very long way from the bleak, snowy plains of Eastern Europe to the warm, tropical islands of the Caribbean — and yet, Jamaicans have been gripped by developments surrounding Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including dramatic personal narratives from compatriots there who are trying to get out. Confusing messages, including pleas for help and accusations by some that the Jamaican government has not provided enough assistance for its citizens, have been reverberating across social media, with much of the concern centred around Jamaican university students in Ukraine. Most of them are medical students, living primarily in Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, as the cost of studies there is a fraction of what it would be in the United States, or even at the University of the West Indies campus in Mona, Jamaica. One student described his struggle to board a train, while back home, students’ parents were consumed with anxiety over their children’s plight. The issue was clouded by allegations on social media — which sparked considerable outrage — that the government had offered students loans to get back home, which they would have to repay. One Twitter observer commented: Kamina said Embassy staff wz shocked at postings on social media cuz some ppl knew but we're posting information that they knew to be false. — Negro Section of the Party (@ja_cynic) February 26, 2022 Kamina Johnson-Smith is Jamaica's Minister of Foreign Affairs. At a press briefing on the evening of February 26, she reaffirmed the government's support for the students: There is no requirement to pay anything back. There is no loan currently on the table. No loan. The minister confirmed that 23 of the 42 students registered at different institutions in Ukraine were in Lviv, not far from the Polish border. She committed to underwriting subsistence costs for the students in Lviv and in Poland, as well as the costs of air travel back to Jamaica. The Jamaican Embassy in Berlin, she noted, had been in touch with the students since January, advising them of the ministry's recommendation that they should be prepared to evacuate if necessary. One Jamaican student did just that, but refused to leave her cat, Victoria, behind: Victoria up and on watch ah mek sure wi #Jamaica students travelling from #Ukraine alright.#jamaicans🇯🇲 #JamaicanStudentsInUkraine #VictoriaDiUkrajaicanPuss pic.twitter.com/2DvSIvjnRU — Zj Sparks 🇯🇲 🕉 九 (@Sparkiebaby) February 26, 2022 However, controversy lingers, and one Jamaican journalist challenged on Twitter: Seeing some quite interesting feedback via twitter. So let me ask … if you were overseas studying & war or a hurricane for instance threatened the country you elected to study, would you feel entitled to tax payers money being used to bring you home free of cost ? — Abka Fitz-Henley (@AbkaFitzHenley) February 27, 2022 On February 26, Irina Bruce, a Ukrainian citizen and tourism entrepreneur living in Montego Bay, posted an update on some students via her YouTube channel. She also defended the Jamaican government’s actions, pointing out that road transportation within Ukraine is impossible due to the absence of drivers, vehicles, and fuel shortages. She had personally tried calling various organisations — including funeral homes — to assist with transport, without success. “When you hear for seven years that Putin is about to invade Ukraine and then he doesn’t, you just don’t take another warning as seriously as you should,” she said, adding in her YouTube comments section: The only person responsible for ALL [that is] happening right now in Ukraine is PUTIN and PUTIN alone. The scale of this attack is a historical event which we have not seen for 81 years and thought we would never see again. If somebody told me last week this would be happening, I would have never believed. […] Big up Ukrainians 🇺🇦 Big up Jamaicans 🇯🇲 Big up Ukrainian Armed Forces 🇺🇦 who ARE protecting Jamaicans 🇯🇲 in Ukraine during their evacuation. Big up Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica 🇯🇲 Big up the Embassy of Jamaica 🇯🇲 in Germany 🇩🇪 Big up POLAND 🇵🇱 the people of POLAND 🇵🇱 – they are the true brothers and sisters of UKRAINE 🇺🇦 Noting that Jamaicans in Ukraine, like thousands of others seeking to flee, still face difficulties, Minister Johnson-Smith stressed: Many are making this journey on foot, so challenges abound. This might be an understatement for some Jamaicans, including a businessman, his Ukrainian wife and their five children who, after having walked for 20 kilometres, found themselves stranded in a bus station after an unsuccessful attempt to cross the border to Poland.