“The most painful observation of the war is perhaps the deportation of Ukrainian children,” says Zelenska
“More than 19 thousand Ukrainian children” have been illegally deported to Russia since February 2022, “an act witnessed by the world that was not the target of any action”, lamented Olena Zelenska this Thursday. The First Lady of Ukraine was present at the 9th edition of the Estoril Conferences taking place at Nova SBE College, in Carcavelos, Lisbon.
“Perhaps the most painful realization [da guerra] whether the systematic deportation of Ukrainian children. The protection of our children is a matter of the greatest urgency, we had to learn to protect them from dangers we had never foreseen”, he stated, leaving a message for world leaders and political decision-makers: “We must critically evaluate the effectiveness of international organizations and your answers — or rather, your inaction”.
Zelenska’s speech was marked by criticism of the inertia and passivity of the international community. “No crime is too far away to worry us all. Every act of violence represents a threat to our common humanity. If we commit to action, we can move closer to peace”, he continued, warning that “when the aggressor is tolerated, he gains time to spread his narratives and commit more acts of violence”. Therefore, “critical decisions have to be made in seconds”.
The Ukrainian first lady pointed the finger at the international community for its inaction
José Fonseca Fernandes
Olena Zelenska, wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, stressed that time has “a profound price — the cost of life”. And “Reflecting on how to help those in need can lead to tragedy if action is delayed”, he insisted, in a panel entitled “How to keep the spirit of a nation alive in time of war in the face of almost 1000 days of continuous conflict?”.
The war had an impact on “the very essence of time” and forced Ukraine to “re-evaluate the importance of very simple, everyday things that have become unavailable,” such as hailing a taxi to the airport, catching a plane and arriving to Portugal in just 4 hours, he explained. “In contrast, a Russian missile can hit a house in just 30 seconds. Furthermore, no more than two minutes are normally given to stop the bleeding of a person injured by bombing.”
Olena Zelenska, who spoke for a few minutes and did not allow interviews, also took advantage of the opportunity to thank Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa for participating in the first global peace summitand also the President of Timor-Leste José Ramos-Horta, also present. The first lady of Ukraine was received, upon arrival, by the Portuguese president and applauded by the public before and after her speech at the Estoril Conferences that end this Friday.
