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Hauwa Aliyu‘s 18-year-old son Suleiman left Nigeria for Ukraine in 2021 to study medicine in the city of Sumy.
A year later he found himself stuck in a war-torn country.
Hauwa spoke to the BBC’s Nomsa Maseko from her home in Lagos about the fear and anxiety that her family has gone through since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
She also told us how she used social media to check on her son's safety.
Produced by Nobuhle Simelane
Edited by Ameer Ahmed