A St. Petersburg woman, Diana Hunter, 25, who's a volunteer with the Peace Corps, was evacuated from Ukraine on Monday because of security concerns, according to the agency.
"I was worried," said Hunter's mom, Karen Linkogle, 49. "I know the Peace Corps is very good about taking care of their volunteers, but still, you just never know."
Linkogle said her daughter was involved in a youth development program through which she taught music to children in a city about two-hours east of L'viv.
"She really did love her community," Linkogle said. "She says that's her second home and the people that she's encountered over there have just been wonderful to her."
The Peace Corps said it evacuated more than 200 volunteers after a bloody government protest erupted on the Capital's streets last week, killing 80 protesters and causing President Viktor Yanukovich to flee. All the volunteers are safe and accounted for, according to the Peace Corps.
"Because of the security situation they weren't allowed to say goodbye to people," Linkogle said. "They couldn't go back to their schools and say goodbye to their students, friends that they had made. They had to really just leave and leave their things behind to be shipped back later."
Linkogle said Hunter arrived in Washington on Tuesday and will return to St. Petersburg in May when she closes out her 27 months of service. Hunter graduated from Stetson Law School in 2010.
"They do really take so much to these countries and give them so much of what we are here in America," Linkogle said. "Then they bring so much back home."
Peace Corps officials said they're monitoring the safety climate in the Ukraine and hopes volunteers can return. Since the program was established in 1992, more than 2,740 volunteers have served in the Ukraine, according to the agency.