Zelenska meets with Lithuanian, Polish first ladies
Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska held a meeting in Vilnius with First Ladies Diana Nausediene of Lithuania and Marta Nawrocka of Poland.
That is according to the Office of the President of Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.
Zelenska thanked Nausediene for taking part in the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, which is held annually in Kyiv.
"Over the years of the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, we have managed to draw attention to painful international issues – war and child security, resilience, mental health, and education. I am glad to hear proposals for the next, sixth summit, which we are already beginning to prepare," she said.
In addition, in Vilnius, Zelenska held her first meeting with Nawrocka.
"I am sincerely pleased about our first personal meeting. I thank Poland and its citizens for their comprehensive and principled support of Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war, and for their firm stance in the international arena," Zelenska said.
She stressed that cultural diplomacy also plays an important role in bringing countries closer together. In cooperation with Polish institutions, 19 Ukrainian book shelves and 12 Ukrainian-language audio guides have already been opened, and cooperation with Polish universities continues regarding joining the Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies.
"Thank you for your video address to the fifth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen. Its theme was education, and as one of the results, 17 'lessons of peace' have already been held in 21 schools in Poland: Polish teenagers were able to watch the film 'Snapshots from Ukraine,' made for the summit and telling the stories of their Ukrainian peers. Ukraine and Poland must use every opportunity to understand and accept each other and not give a chance to those who would like to sow discord between our peoples," Zelenska said.
The First Ladies of Ukraine and Lithuania also visited the National Museum of Lithuania and viewed an exhibition dedicated to the January Uprising of 1863-1864 – a movement for liberation from the Russian Empire in which Ukrainians took part together with Poles and Lithuanians.
"We have had many shared pages in history, including a common liberation struggle against empires – first the Russian, then the Soviet. Our countries went through a shared and difficult experience that must be heard, understood, and remembered in order to preserve the independence of our countries and ourselves within them," Zelenska said
Photo credit: Office of the President of Ukraine