Along with its partners across Europe, ZEvA is looking at the current events in Ukraine with great concern. As a European quality assurance agency, we have always been committed to the values of democracy, trust, international co-operation and peacekeeping. These ideas provide the basis for the European Higher Education Area and are thus a central prerequisite of our work.

We now see these goals and core values fundamentally violated by the Russian military attack on Ukraine. We hereby declare our full solidarity with the people and government of Ukraine in their struggle for political autonomy. Our thoughts are with our Ukrainian colleagues and partners in numerous joint projects and our European networks and associations whose lives are under immediate threat. We offer them all help and support that we can possibly provide.

We will also do everything in our power to support the existing democratic forces in Russia which we have come to know through many QA procedures at Russian higher education institutes over the last couple of years. However, we see ourselves unable to conduct any further activities in the Russian Federation until the war in Ukraine has ended. At present it is impossible to say if and when we will be able to resume our work in Russia. This will very much depend on the general political developments in the months ahead. We sincerely regret this, but with a view to the current situation we see no alternatives.

Our hopes are set on a swift return of peace and on the continuation of our fruitful co-operation with our friends and colleagues in Ukraine.