Statement on the situation in Ukraine

St Catherine’s College shares the world’s outrage at the events unfolding currently in Ukraine. We understand this will be a deeply distressing time for many of our community, and we would like to offer our support to all those affected in any way. We are encouraging students to reach out to our Junior Deans for support.

The thoughts and sympathies of members of the College are with all those affected.

The following joint statement was also released by the College’s JCR and MCR:

The JCR and MCR of St Catherine’s College condemn President Vladimir Putin’s decision to authorise an invasion of Ukraine. We recognise the sovereignty of Ukraine as a nation and stand in solidarity.

We condemn the inaction of the UK government and their choice to not fully waive visa requirements for Ukrainians in light of the crisis. There are estimated to be 18,000 Ukrainian citizens in the UK as of last year, and the Eastern European diaspora are an important part of the population in both Oxford and the rest of the country.

We also stand in solidarity with Russian staff and students, whom we recognise are not responsible for the crisis at hand and may be experiencing fear of ostracisation and discrimination.

Further information on the wider University response can be found on the University website.