As part of her visit to the United States of America, First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska is visiting Washington at the invitation of First Lady of the United States Jill Biden.
"Mrs. Biden visited Ukraine in May in order to see and communicate with those who lost their homes and loved ones due to the war. Now it's my turn to speak in the US about Ukrainian needs in our resistance and fight against the aggressor," said Olena Zelenska, starting the visit.
The First Lady of Ukraine held a meeting with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Olena Zelenska visited the Memorial to the Victims of the Holodomor of 1932-1933 in Ukraine in Washington downtown established at the expense of philanthropists, the government of Ukraine and the Ukrainian diaspora in 2015. She met there with representatives of the Ukrainian community in the US.
"Visiting this place, which resonates so much with our tragic present, where Russia is trying to destroy Ukraine once again, I faced a true ray of light - a meeting with the Ukrainian community in the USA. These are people who, even thousands of kilometers from their homeland, remember who they are, know the language, who voluntarily responded to the Russian attack in the first ranks and rushed to help their homeland and compatriots," said Olena Zelenska.
On the first day of the visit, she also met with USAID Administrator Samantha Power.
"I was glad to meet our great friend, Mrs. Samantha, especially in the context of the fact that her agency, USAID, is one of the main partners of Ukraine in the matter of supporting people. In particular, it is about psychological assistance in the framework of our National Program of Mental Assistance and Psychosocial Support. Together, we must return to Ukrainians the strength and will to live," said the First Lady of Ukraine.
Olena Zelenska also held a meeting with the participants of the Prosthetics Program, which was initiated by the Ukrainian House in Washington and the Embassy of Ukraine in the USA. It was created specifically for Ukrainians who lost their limbs as a result of Russian aggression.
Olena Zelenska told about the first citizens of Ukraine who took advantage of this help, the Stepanenko family from Kramatorsk: "Natalia Stepanenko with her 11-year-old twins Yana and Yaroslav were at the station in Kramatorsk and tried to evacuate on the very day when a Russian missile flew there... Nataia lost a leg, Yana - both. Now the family is in the USA - Natalia is already getting used to the new prosthesis, and Yana is preparing for the upcoming prosthetics surgery."
The First Lady emphasized that the program continues. The Ukrainian House and the Embassy collect information from the Ministry of Health about children who suffered mine and explosive injuries. After the determination of the medical institution that will receive the family in the USA and a meeting between Ukrainian and American doctors, transportation and prosthetics take place.
"I believe that together we will return the childhood that the Russians took away from our children," Olena Zelenska summed up.
