Turkmen students from Kharkov in makeshift housing. Photo courtesy of Vasile Vlaşin. Every year, many Turkmen students arrive in Ukraine for better education. However, since Russia invaded Ukraine hundreds of students have been left in limbo as they try to flee bombings Ukraine, with no help from their government. “My children are in Odessa, and I am now looking for ways to get them out of there…If there is any information on how to cross borders, please share.” This mother's heartbreaking message was shared on the Facebook group “We are from Turkmenistan” on March 4. Most expatriates are told to turn to their embassy for resources and guidance in case of an emergency. Unfortunately, during the first few days of Russia’s war on Ukraine, the Turkmen embassy was largely unhelpful when it came to the students and citizens left in Ukraine. The embassy has no note on its website about evacuation protocols. Instead, there is the portrait of the President of Turkmenistan smiling, accompanied by the note: “Turkmenistan's neutrality, friendly, constructive and respectful relations with all the states, cooperation established with the UN and its specialized agencies, participation in the work of other respected organizations create favorable opportunities for our country to participate more efficiently in the resolution of the most significant problems of the modern world.” The lack of information forced some Turkmen students to find their own solutions, with many relying on social media. Students began to exchange news and information through chats on Telegram, WhatsApp, FaceBook, and Instagram. While Turkmenistan's diplomats were waiting for the order from their bosses in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan's capital, their counterparts from the neighboring Central Asian countries, such as Uzbekistan, acted immediately, announcing evacuations and resources. So far, the government of Turkmenistan has not issued any official statements on Russia's aggression in Ukraine. In addition, the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Kyiv, while still officially operating, stopped answering phone calls after the third day of the war in Ukraine. The nation's state-run media do not cover the war in Ukraine at all. People usually watch Russia's TV programs via satellite dishes and consume Russian propaganda, as most other outlets are blocked. On March 3, 2022, controversy erupted in the Facebook group “We are from Turkmenistan” regarding the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Kyiv's newly created Twitter account. 05-06.03.2022 г. из города Николаев через город Одесса были эвакуированы до границы с Румынией студенты из Туркменистана, которые обучались в николаевских ВУЗах. — Embassy of Turkmenistan in Ukraine (@EMB_TKMinUKRAIN) March 6, 2022 On March 5 and 6, 2022, students from Turkmenistan who studied at Nikolaev universities were evacuated from the city of Nikolaev through the city of Odessa to the border with Romania. The first announcement on this Twitter account appeared on February 28, urging the citizens to follow the instructions and messages of the local authorities of Ukraine to ensure their safety and to comply with the rules of the curfew. It listed contacts to get evacuation information and informed citizens that the Embassy is still fully operational. Another tweet appeared on March 2, stating that citizens of Turkmenistan who are in Kyiv and wish to evacuate should urgently contact the Embassy of Turkmenistan. The statement reads that most of these citizens have already crossed the Polish and Romanian borders; the rest are preparing to cross the borders very soon. The tweets on March 2 claim that the Embassy helped Turkmenistan citizens depart from the railway station in Kyiv in the direction of the western regions of Ukraine. While there is not yet any data about how many people have been evacuated, the account only has 72 followers and is likely only reaching a few people, since the information is not published on any official government website. Samir, 28, a citizen of Turkmenistan and a permanent resident in Kyiv, decided to leave the city with his cousin's family on February 26, 2022. Samir's mother and two sisters work and live in Prague, Czechia. Therefore, he wanted to join his family by crossing the border of Ukraine and Romania to reach Czechia. After calling the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Kyiv and getting no help from the office, he decided to act. Earlier, Samir's sister called the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Romania to get information about Turkmen citizens crossing the border.