An important sign of support for Ukraine from the United Kingdom
Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and sister of King Charles III, has made an unannounced visit to Kyiv. This is the Princess's first visit to independent Ukraine – she last visited in 1973 with her father and Mark Phillips for the equestrian championships. This time, her mission had a particularly symbolic meaning – to support children and families affected by the war.
Princess Anna met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the National Reserve “Sophia Kyivska”. The main topics of the talks were the return of Ukrainian children illegally deported by Russia, the rehabilitation of soldiers, support for veterans and the introduction of barrier-free practices in society. The President thanked Her Highness for her attention to these topics and invited her to participate in the upcoming summit of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children.
“One of the key topics of our meeting is the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. This is an issue that unites the international community, and we are grateful for the attention and support,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted. In turn, Princess Anna shared her impressions of visiting the rehabilitation center in Bucha, where she saw the process of rehabilitation of Ukrainian soldiers.
Princess Anne met separately with the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska. Together they visited the Center for the Protection of Children's Rights, where they spoke with children who were returned from Russia. “Unfortunately, the war deprived our children of a normal childhood, and many of them of their lives. We have received almost 20,000 reports of deported children and are trying to find each one. This is an extremely difficult process, because their names and dates of birth are changed, they are given Russian documents and a new identity is imposed,” Zelenska emphasized.
During the visit, the princess and the first lady paid tribute to the children who died at the Children's Memorial. A symbolic moment was when the princess laid down a teddy bear that belonged to her daughter, with a yellow and blue ribbon. “That was one that my daughter had,” said Anna, addressing Olena Zelenska. This gesture became a touching testimony of personal solidarity with Ukrainian families.
