The decision to relocate Arsenal's Europa League fixture with Vorskla Poltava to Kiev will be a "major inconvenience" to both fans and the club, according to a leading supporters' group.

The Group E game had been scheduled to be held at Stadion Vorskla in Poltava - around 185 miles (300 kilometres) east of the Ukrainian capital.

However, after martial law was declared in some regions of the country, Uefa's emergency panel announced on Tuesday night that the match will now take place in Kiev's Olimpiyskiy Stadium.

Ukraine's president has called for martial law to be imposed in the country due to escalating tensions with Russia, whose coastguards are accused of seizing three Ukrainian ships in Crimea on Sunday.

Arsenal vs Vorskla Poltava player ratings Show all 12 1 /12 Arsenal vs Vorskla Poltava player ratings Arsenal vs Vorskla Poltava player ratings Arsenal 4-2 Vorskla Poltava Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (left) celebrates scoring his side's first goal of the game during the UEFA Europa League, Group E match at the Emirates Stadium, London. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday September 20, 2018. See PA story SOCCER Arsenal. Photo credit should read: Nick Potts/PA Wire Nick Potts PA Arsenal vs Vorskla Poltava player ratings Bernd Leno - 6 out of 10 Wasn’t allowed to do much as his defenders were very solid but he looked confident on the ball when it came to him. REUTERS Arsenal vs Vorskla Poltava player ratings Stephan Lichtsteiner - 6 Ran down the right and worked well with Danny Welbeck to get balls into the box from the wing, assisted Ozil for the fourth goal but got caught in possession to give Vorskla a consolation goal. AP Arsenal vs Vorskla Poltava player ratings Sokratis Papastathopoulos - 6 Made a few well-timed tackles and commanded his area of the pitch letting nothing get past him, he also set up the fourth goal. REUTERS Arsenal vs Vorskla Poltava player ratings Rob Holding - 6 Held his own at centre-back and controlled the ball well moving forward, he played a few good passes out into the wings that allowed Arsenal to quickly move up the pitch. AP Arsenal vs Vorskla Poltava player ratings Nacho Monreal - 6 Ran well down the left wing and offered Arsenal a threatening attacking option when they looked a little sluggish in possession. REUTERS Arsenal vs Vorskla Poltava player ratings Lucas Torreira - 6 Wanted to control the game for Arsenal, he perhaps got the ball too deep to make a positive impact and an injury to his left ankle didn’t help. Could have had a goal from a free kick but narrowly missed the target. Getty Images Arsenal vs Vorskla Poltava player ratings Mohamed Elneny - 5 Played well in midfield, did his job adequately if not spectacularly. REUTERS Arsenal vs Vorskla Poltava player ratings Henrikh Mkhitaryan - 7 Looked a little of kilter but managed little sparks of brilliance such as the interception in the first half that allowed Arsenal to break away and score the opener, and his cross in the second that set up Welbeck. REUTERS Arsenal vs Vorskla Poltava player ratings Alex Iwobi - 7 Combined well with Aubameyang especially when he ran at the defenders, he outpaced them and created chances in and around goal. REUTERS Arsenal vs Vorskla Poltava player ratings Danny Welbeck - 7 Looked lost in the first half but came into his own in the second. He scored a good header and could have had at least one more goal AP Arsenal vs Vorskla Poltava player ratings Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - 8 Scored the first half goal with a great finish as he was going to ground, made runs at the defenders and finished it with a glorious right footed strike. All in under 60 minutes. AFP/Getty Images

Around 500 Arsenal fans were expected to make the trip to Poltava - with some already affected by the late change.

John Williamson, an Arsenal Independent Supporters' Association committee member, was already in situ for Thursday night's game having planned ahead.

Asked how the announcement had affecting plans, he said: "Dramatically. We arrived in Poltava on Tuesday with an original plan of spending four nights here, returning home on Saturday.

"Having been to Kiev three times previously, We have just decided that on matchday we will go by train to Kiev, return to Poltava on Friday and go to Kharkiv on Saturday for our flight back to London."

A statement released by Uefa on Tuesday confirmed the venue change and said other fixtures may fall foul of the political tensions in the region.

It read: "Uefa's emergency panel has today taken the decision to relocate FC Vorskla's Uefa Europa League group stage match against Arsenal FC from the city of Poltava, following the introduction of martial law into certain regions in Ukraine.

"The match will now take place at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kiev on Thursday, November 29 at 1855CET (1755GMT).

Arsenal have seen their game moved (Getty Images)

"Uefa will continue to monitor and assess the security situation in Ukraine in the coming days before making any decision on potentially relocating other matches."

It is understood a small group of Arsenal support staff were also already in Poltava before Uefa's decision - with Williamson unhappy about the governing body's handling of the situation.

"It's a major inconvenience not only for the fans, but for the team as well," he added.

"Having spent a night in Poltava, I see no issues whatsoever with the match being played here.

"I understand the political issues in surrounding areas but there are no problems in the town. I feel that Uefa hasn't assessed the situation and has overreacted."