Thoughts on Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine – Rick Steves’ Travel Blog

Now is a profoundly sad day. Russia’s aggressive action is heartbreaking for the loss of life, suffering, and financial turmoil it will trigger in Ukraine and, indirectly at least, over and above. Listed here at Rick Steves’ Europe, we hope that a diplomatic option can be identified and peace will return to that fragile and lengthy-suffering aspect of our environment.

Our mission at RSE is to assistance People in america greater know and realize our neighbors through journey. But when we convey vacationers to an additional state, we also deliver their pounds — bucks that would guidance Putin’s aggression. As a result, as of currently, we have canceled all 2022 tours that include things like a quit in Russia.

Of study course, we will keep a near eye on unfolding functions and observe any journey impacts by means of the rest of Europe. But it is essential to preserve geographic realities in mind and bear in mind that a war in Ukraine is as far from our European trip desires as a war in Guatemala would be from Texas or Florida. For 40 yrs now, we have lived, worked, and traveled by many intervals of tragic warfare in lands significantly from where we guide our excursions (and some nearer). And at this time, we see no motive to transform the relaxation of our vacation and touring programs.

The tragic actuality unfolding in Ukraine only reminds me how vital it is for People to maintain on traveling and to do so in a way that can make us far better and extra engaged citizens of our globe. I’m traveling to Europe up coming thirty day period for a 40-day journey by way of a dozen good metropolitan areas from London to Athens — and I’m happy that countless numbers of my fellow travelers will experience the European trip of their goals whilst getting abundant finding out experiences considerably from dwelling on a 2022 Rick Steves tour.

In the meantime, let us be grateful for our blessings, aid our nation’s leaders as they do their ideal to navigate this crisis, and maintain the troubled corners of our globe (Ukraine, Russia, Afghanistan, and much more) in our views and prayers.

—Rick