A statement from The Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center and the Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Below is a joint statement from The Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center and the Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Illinois Global Institute stands with our colleagues in REEEC and the Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures, and those affected in our community and across the world. 


The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is the home of many scholars and students who have dedicated their lives to the study of Russia, East Europe, and Eurasia. Many people from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus live and work in our community. We are devastated by the assault on Ukraine ordered by President Putin. We reject the falsehoods and historical distortions used by the Russian government to justify this criminal war of choice. We know that this attack on Ukraine is an attack on humanity, democracy, and the rule of law the world over and that it poses an extraordinary threat of wider war. We call on leaders and citizens around the worldinside and outside of Russiato do their utmost to bring this war to an end, and to help those affected by it, first and foremost the people of Ukraine, whose lives and hopes for democratic self-governance have been upended by this vicious assault.