ALBAWABA - America's First Lady Jill Biden visited Ukraine. In the town of Uzhhorod across the border with Slovakia she met with Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska, the wife of the Ukraine president Volodymyer Zelensky according to UPI.
Jill Biden visits Ukraine on Mother's Day and meets with Zelensky's wife https://t.co/GPqSIFUIgD
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) May 8, 2022
Biden and Zelenska met at a school which is used as a shelter to house Ukraine refugees fleeing the war reported the American news agency. The rare visit to a war zone made by Biden was timed with Mother's Day and it was a surprise visit.
#HappyMothersDay
— Lorraine Evanoff (@LorraineEvanoff) May 8, 2022
“I wanted to come on Mother’s Day,” Biden said. “I thought it was important to show the Ukrainian people that this war has to stop and this war has been brutal and that the people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine.”https://t.co/9VnjPAVDsm
Biden wrote earlier on Twitter that she wanted to be with Ukrainian mothers and their children on Mother's Day Anadolu news agency reported. "Over the last few months, far too many Ukrainians have had to flee their homes – forcing them to leave behind their loved ones," she wrote.
"As a mother, I can only imagine the grief and anxiety they must feel every day from Russia’s unprovoked attack," reported the Turkish news agency.
I thought there was a war in Ukraine? Yet, JT, Jill Biden and U2 all made "surprise" visits today? Is it just me or does this seem dangerous or at least very odd? https://t.co/oRaKf0Jrco
— Whole story girl (@notwokebutawake) May 8, 2022
The Daily Mail provided full coverage of the visit. Biden is the highest profile member of President Joe Biden's administration to visit the war torn country. She called the president from her car as her motorcade left the Ukraine to return to Slovena, an East Wing official said, and as reported by the British newspaper.
US first lady Jill Biden pays unannounced visit to Ukraine https://t.co/2hNskUr8uy pic.twitter.com/g9Dcsuscp2
— ANADOLU AGENCY (@anadoluagency) May 8, 2022
The visit wasn't announced due to security reasons. The first lady traveled by vehicle to the town of Uzhhorod, about a 10-minute drive from a Slovakian village that borders Ukraine. She spent about two hours in Ukraine, the London-based daily added.
Anadolu reported that at least 3,309 civilians were killed and 3,493 others injured in Ukraine since Russia launched a war on the country on Feb. 24, according to UN estimates. The true toll is feared to be much higher, adding that more than 5.8 million people have fled to other countries, with some 7.7 million people internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is in Kyiv today. Naturally she had to have a souvenir photo with Ukraine’s iconic train conductors pic.twitter.com/Nla46eTimE
— Business Ukraine mag (@Biz_Ukraine_Mag) May 1, 2022
The Daily Mail reported that President Biden said he would like to visit the Ukraine but is not allowed - likely due to security reasons. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had been the most high-profile members of the administration to date to visit the Ukraine. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of Congress also have visited and met with President Zelensky in Kyiv.
