The University of Ostrava expresses its solidarity with Ukraine

The University of Ostrava has already condemned Russia's unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, expressed its solidarity with Ukraine and its people, and joined the statement of the Czech Rectors' Conference on the war in Ukraine.

However, the war in Ukraine has also directly affected the University of Ostrava itself. The University of Ostrava has a number of partner institutions in Ukraine and there are many Ukrainian students studying in Ostrava, both full-time students and students on exchange programmes. Russian missiles have hit the city of Lviv, where our partner Lviv Polytechnic National University is located, and fierce battles are being fought over the city of Kharkiv, the seat of our partner V. N. Karazin National University. We are therefore concerned for the lives and safety of many academics with whom we work and who are our friends. We are also concerned for the lives and safety of students, administrative and technical staff and their loved ones. When the Russian aggression began, several Ukrainian students were on their way to Ostrava as part of the Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility programme. We do not know where they are at the moment, whether they have managed to leave the territory of Ukraine or whether they have decided to stay with their families. We just hope that they are safe.

We would like to express our deepest solidarity to all our partner universities in Ukraine and to all the Ukrainian people.

Updated: 24. 02. 2022