First Lady Jill Biden visits Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia

2022-05-09 09:23:31Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

First Lady Jill Biden visits Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia

Before going to Ukraine to meet with the Ukrainian president's wife, First Lady Jill Biden spoke closely with Ukrainian refugees at reception points in Slovakia, as well as at schools where Ukrainian children are admitted. On Mother's Day, she heard stories of Ukrainian girls and mothers in eastern Slovakia, where hundreds of thousands of refugees have passed in recent months.

US First Lady Jill Biden on Sunday visited Ukrainian refugees at reception centers in Slovakia. The refugees describe how they escaped the threat of war that Russia launched in February.

Ms Biden spoke with refugee families, volunteers and local authorities working in the town of Kosice, in eastern Slovakia, where hundreds of thousands of refugees have passed in recent months. Viktoria Kotucha, a teacher who came from the Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod together with her 7-year-old daughter Julia, said that when the war started they realized that there was no more security anywhere in Ukraine.

Her husband is already serving in the military and they bond to talk when the opportunity arises. Victoria says she found it difficult to explain the fight to her daughter. Ms. Biden, who teaches at a college in Virginia, is on a visit to Romania and Slovakia, meeting with US troops stationed there as well as refugees.

She also visited a school in the town of Kosice where Slovak and Ukrainian mothers are celebrating along with Mother's Day activities. "The hearts of the American people are with the mothers of Ukraine," she said, congratulating the women on the holiday.

One of the women said that children should understand war. "They need to understand why we are here and why they are helping us; why we are separated from our men. "They need to understand what is happening."

During a visit to a refugee crisis center set up at a bus station, Ms. Biden had the opportunity to talk to refugees fleeing cities like Zaporizhia and Kiev.

Over 400,000 refugees have crossed the Slovak border since the Russian invasion began, mostly women and children. Most continue to travel to other countries, but over 74,000 have received refugee status in Slovakia, which has a population of 5.5 million.


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