After originally stating the conflict between the Ukraine and Russia would not threaten students studying abroad, Eastern European Study Abroad announced Monday all students would be evacuated as quickly as possible.
According to Inside Higher Ed, the EESA originally announced Thursday that the struggle over the Crimea between Russia and Ukraine would not threaten students. Now, the EESA has decided to evacuate the students studying in Ukraine "within 48" hours as Russia has parliamentary permission to invade the country.
The EESA's Monday statement in full:
"Just a couple of days ago, EESA sent an email regarding student safety in Ukraine. Within only 24 hours, Putin received parliamentary permission to use Russian troops in Ukraine. As a result, EESA made a decision to evacuate the students within 48 hours. They will continue taking classes online, and there is a possibility of continuing the semester in Ukraine, if the crisis is resolved peacefully. At this point, 2014 summer and fall programs are set to take place as scheduled and we are hopeful that the international community, Ukraine and Russia can seek a peaceful resolution to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine."
Renee Stillings, the director of the School of Russian and Asian Studies, told Inside Higher Ed the organization is in the process of moving two students out of Odessa, which was meant to be a backup city. With the uncertainty in Kiev, the school had to relocate and now not even Odessa can be considered safe.
"Odessa is still reasonably quiet, but the whole issue has taken on a much bigger dimension now internationally and as we have seen, Russia's actions, while perhaps predictable to the Kremlin, are making heads spin in the West," Stillings said.
Stillings said the conflict is, ironically enough, a perfect real-life lesson in what they are currently studying: policy and conflict. Still, when the situation becomes hostile, safety trumps everything.
Lock Haven University and Study Abroad Compass headline other study abroad programs that reported having no students in Ukraine.
The U.S. Passports and International Travel Department issued a warning last week that travel to the Ukraine should be delayed for the time being. American Councils for International Education president Dan E. Davidson said there are no students in the country, but staff members in the Kiev office will be allowed to return to the U.S. if they want.
"[American Councils] has also rescheduled two conferences on exchanges and alumni programs that had been previously planned for February and April in Kiev," Davidson said in a statement. "We hope very much that the present crisis in the eastern regions can be resolved peacefully and fairly for all concerned."
