News

On 22-24 November, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Jovita Neliupšienė is visiting Ukraine. In Kyiv, together with a delegation of women from European countries - Austria, Croatia, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Romania and Germany - met with Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska and talked about the upcoming plans to survive the winter and the further, inevitably European, future of Ukraine.

Zelenska’s requested the international delegation of women from seven European countries and the European Parliament to take care of Ukrainian refugee children and not to slow down the pace of support for Ukraine.

“Zelenska thanked Lithuania for letting almost 25,000 Ukrainian children study at Lithuanian secondary schools and for offering them the opportunity to learn also the Ukrainian language, as well as for the support of the Lithuanian people to Ukraine,” Neliupšienė said after the meeting on sensitive topics with the First Lady of Ukraine.

During a conversation with Zelenska, the international women’s delegation discussed what the international community could and had to do to help the refugee children and thousands of forcefully deported children to Russia return home safely and expeditiously, so that they could also contribute to the creation of a European Ukraine.

The international women’s delegation and Zelenska also discussed the issue of women victims of war atrocities. This joint visit by women from seven European countries and the European Parliament is yet another opportunity not only to highlight but also to discuss ways to help thousands of Ukrainian women experiencing physical, emotional and sexual violence.

“When discussing Ukraine’s future in international formats, we must talk not only about restoring destroyed buildings, bridges, infrastructure, but also ruined lives. It is the duty of all of us to offer Ukrainian women help — legal, financial, and emotional," Neliupšienė summed up the meeting with Zelenska.