The first lady of the United States traveled to Ukraine to meet with her counterpart from the European country. For security reasons, Olena Zelenska has been kept out of the public eye since the conflict with Russia broke out.
Jill Biden, first lady of the United States, traveled to Ukraine as a surprise to meet with her counterpart in the European country, Olena Zelenska. As reported, the visit is a show of solidarity that coincides with the celebration of Mother’s Day.
“I wanted to come on Mother’s Day. I thought it was important to show the Ukrainian people that this war has to end and that it has been brutal, and that the people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine,” Biden told reporters.
The wife of the US president met the Ukrainian first lady at a school in Uzhhorod, a city of 100,000 inhabitants a few kilometers from the border with Slovakia.
Biden and Zelenska embraced, after which the American handed her a bouquet of flowers before a private meeting inside the school, which has been converted into a temporary shelter for families fleeing the war.
The population of that Ukrainian town has tripled since the start of the fighting due to internally displaced people fleeing the conflict.
Olena Zelenska, wife of the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has not been seen in public for security reasons since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24.
The two women addressed reporters after the meeting, with Zelenska thanking Jill Biden for her “courageous” visit to Ukraine.
“We understand the courage it takes for the first lady of the United States to come here during a war, with war operations every day, with the air sirens being heard every day, even today,” said the hostess of the meeting.
The first lady of the United States visited that school to show her support for Ukraine, coinciding with a Russian attack on a school in the east of the country that is feared has left dozens dead.
Initially, Jill Biden was only going to go to a border crossing between Slovakia and Ukraine, but officials from Ukraine and the US gave the green light to cross the border, evaluating the situation as safe.
Before crossing the border Biden met with refugee families at an emergency aid center in Kosice, in eastern Slovakia.
This is the last visit to Ukraine by senior US officials in recent weeks, after Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.