U.S. First Lady Jill Biden meet Ukrainian refugees and humanitarian aid workers in Romania and Slovakia during a four-day trip beginning May 5, according to a White House statement. The May 2 announcement said she would also be meeting with members of the American armed services as well as members of the Romanian and Slovak governments.
Four days of meetings
"On Mother’s Day, she will meet with Ukrainian mothers and children who have been forced to flee their home country because of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s war," the White House said.
The following outline of the First Lady's schedule was given by the White House:
The evening of May 5 - Departure from the United States.
May 6 - Meeting with American military service members at Mihail Kogalniceau Airbase in Romania.
May 7 - Meetings with Romanian government officials, humanitarian aid workers, U.S. embassy employees, and "educators who are helping teach displaced Ukrainian children and incorporate them into a stable and safe school environment."
May 8 (Mother's Day) - Visit to Slovak communities of Kosice and Vysne Nemecke. Meetings with mothers and children who have fled Ukraine and humanitarian aid workers as well as "local Slovaks who are supporting families who have sought refuge in Slovakia during this crisis."
May 9 - Meeting with Slovak government officials and departure for the United States.
The entire announcement of the First Lady's trip can be found at the White House website.
Romania shelters 836,173 Ukrainians
Of the countries bordering Ukraine, Romania has the second largest number of Ukrainian refugees, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) website. As of May 2, Romania was sheltering 836,173 refugees from Ukraine, the UNHCR said.
Poland was sheltering 3,075,240 and Slovakia 382,024, the UNHCR said.
Gratitude for help from Slovakia
On May 2, Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba used Twitter to express gratitude to Slovakia for the "warm welcome" it had extended to refugees from Ukraine. He also voiced appreciation for the humanitarian assistance and weapons which Slovakia had supplied.
"Ukraine will always remember what our Slovak friends did for us," Kubela said.
Ukraine will always remember what our Slovak friends did for us. Warm welcome for Ukrainians fleeing the war, humanitarian aid, arms supplies, support for granting Ukraine EU candidate status and allowing tariff-free exports to the EU. We are lucky to have Slovakia as a neighbor.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) May 2, 2022
He also noted that Slovakia had supported Ukraine's bid for membership in the European Union. "We are lucky to have Slovakia as a neighbor," he said.
U.S. diplomats return to Kyiv
In a May 2 post on Twitter, the staff of the U.S. embassy to Ukraine announced that American diplomats were again inside Ukraine.
"The embassy hopes to return to Kyiv by the end of May," the post said.
Today, US Chargé d’Affaires Kristina Kvien returned to Ukraine for the first time since the beginning of the war. “We are thrilled to be back!” she said at a press conference in Lviv. The embassy hopes to return to Kyiv by the end of May, she added. pic.twitter.com/R6Bm1anxr6
— U.S. Embassy Kyiv (@USEmbassyKyiv) May 2, 2022
With its invasion of #Ukraine, #Russia has brought suffering & pain as the number of victims of sexual violence continues to grow. No war is a justification for such crimes. I appeal to Russia’s soldiers & their superiors to put an end to their violence. pic.twitter.com/AHkFxBtckz
— Zuzana Čaputová (@ZuzanaCaputova) April 26, 2022
Slovak President denounces sexual violence by Russian soldiers
On April 26, Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová posted a video on Twitter in which she called on Russian soldiers to put an end to sexual violence.
She cited examples of Ukrainian women who had been raped. Addressing the invaders, she said, "Nobody was threatening you, no one wanted to hurt you, but now you are doing irreparable harm."
She continued, "If you are still capable of feeling any vestige of humanity in yourself, bring it back to life and end this terrible war."