A 23-year-old Nigerian medical student has died after sustaining critical injuries in a Russian aerial bombardment of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, passing away in a German hospital on Sunday, just days after she was due to receive her medical degree.
Nnani Adaobi Marian was on her way to a graduation photoshoot on 29 June with her close friend, Fatima Huseynova, when Russian forces dropped guided aerial bombs on the Kholodnohirskyi district of Kharkiv. Fatima died at the scene.
Adaobi sustained life-threatening injuries and was rushed to hospital in Kharkiv before being transferred to Germany, where doctors fought unsuccessfully to save her life.
She died on 5 July 2026. She was 23 years old.
Adaobi and Fatima had been studying remotely from Azerbaijan since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
They had travelled to Kharkiv specifically to collect their diplomas, with the graduation ceremony scheduled for 30 June.
Kharkiv National Medical University, where Adaobi had studied since 2020, confirmed her death in a statement on Sunday.
“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 the doctors’ efforts, they could not save her,” the university said.
The institution described her as one of its most outstanding students.
“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,” it said.
During her studies, Adaobi completed international medical training programmes at the University of Cambridge in 2024 and Biruni University in Turkiye in 2025.
The 29 June bombardment killed at least 14 people and injured 98 others across the Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions, according to Ukrainian authorities.
