First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska met yesterday with Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, a member of the British Royal Family.
The President’s wife expressed gratitude to the United Kingdom for its support in returning Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. The UK is among the 44 members of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children.
“Thank you for your attention to the issue of Ukrainian children. Sadly, our children have been deprived of a normal childhood, and many of them – of life itself – because of Russian aggression,” said the First Lady.
Olena Zelenska noted that Russia has killed at least 657 Ukrainian children, and about 2,200 more have been injured as a result of the Russian Federation’s aggression.
“We have received nearly 20,000 reports of children being forcibly taken away, and we are now trying to find each and every child. But this is very difficult. Their names and dates of birth are changed, they are issued Russian documents, and placed in families of strangers. They are forced to live in a new Russian family, accept a new history, and follow a path that leads toward a military career,” the First Lady said.
Olena Zelenska, Princess Anne, and Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets also visited the Child Rights Protection Center, where they met with adolescents who had been brought back home and spoke with specialists providing them with assistance.
Olena Rozvadovska, co-founder of the Voices of Children Foundation, and the foundation’s psychologist Nataliia Sosnovenko spoke about the psychological challenges faced by Ukrainian children in Russia: pressure, intimidation, deception – and about the process of overcoming trauma that they are forced to endure.
The First Lady, The Princess Royal, and Advisor – Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children’s Rights and Child Rehabilitation Daria Herasymchuk honored the memory of Ukrainian children killed by Russia at the Children’s Memorial.
“In recent years, we have gathered here with representatives of the diplomatic corps, international organizations, Ukrainian NGOs, and members of government to honor the memory of our children and to send a message to the world that these crimes cannot be forgotten if the world wants to continue to be considered civilized and humane,” Olena Zelenska emphasized.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.president.gov.ua ’
