Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 has caused vast displacement of people within the country as well as across the EU borders. While the annexation of Crimea had a negative impact on the country's education system, recent events have added additional strain. Outbound student mobility was already substantial in recent years, but it has accelerated even further since the Crimean conflict began. After doubling from some 25 000 to nearly 50 000 between 2007 and 2014, the number of Ukrainian students abroad has since skyrocketed by another 54 % to around 78 000 in 2019. Some 480 Ukrainian students are currently engaged in Erasmus+ activities via the programme's international strand. In the 2015-2019 programming period, Ukraine received 40 % of the available funding in the Eastern Partnership region, and over 9 000 Ukrainian students and staff participated in more than 1 300 Erasmus projects.

EPRS - Ukrainian students in the EU