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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is bringing back 22 missionaries from Ukraine due to civil unrest there.
The church previously transferred the missionaries from the Ukraine's Crimean peninsula to other areas within the mission as a precautionary measure. On Thursday night, the church announced the proselytizing church members would end their missions early and return to the United States.
The church says missionaries set to serve in Ukraine who are still in stateside training centers will be assigned elsewhere pending developments.
The Salt Lake City-based church has several hundred missionaries and some 11,000 members in Ukraine. Worldwide, the church has about 15 million members and 84,600 missionaries.
The church began taking action after Russia captured the Crimean peninsula, a pro-Russian area of Ukraine.
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