US First lady, Jill Biden visits Ukraine refugees in Romania
US First Lady Jill Biden on Saturday visited Ukraine ‘amazingly strong’ refugees in Romania as a show of US support to Ukraine
US First Lady Jill Biden (L)and First Lady of Romania Carmen Iohannis smile during a visit of the “Uruguay Gymnasium School” in Bucharest to meet Ukrainian refugee pupils and Ukrainian refugee teachers, in Bucharest, on 7 May, 2022. – US First Lady Jill Biden visits Romania and Slovakia to meet with displaced Ukrainian parents and children, aid workers, US service members and embassy personnel. Her visit is the latest show of US support for Ukraine and the countries assisting it. Photo: Octav GANEA / various sources / AFP
US First Lady Jill Biden hailed the “amazingly strong” refugees from war-torn Ukraine as she visited neighbouring Romania on Saturday.
“You are amazingly strong,”
Biden said after listening to mothers and children recount how they fled Russia’s invasion of their country.
“We stand with you, I hope you know that,”
she said in a visit to a school in Bucharest, accompanied by her Romanian counterpart Carmen Iohannis, according to images transmitted by TVR public television.
More than 810 000 Ukrainians have entered Romania since the start of the war, according to UN figures released on 29 April,
Most have moved on to other countries, with an estimated 80 000 staying, half of them children, according to the World Vision foundation.
ALSO READ: French police arrest three for tricking tourists at Eiffel Tower
JILL BIDEN, SHOW OF US SUPPORT
Biden’s visit to the region is the latest show of US support for Ukraine and the countries assisting it, and follows a trip to Kyiv by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who met with President Volodymyr Zelensky a week ago.
On Friday Biden met with US service members in Romania and on Sunday, she is set to travel to Slovakia, where she will meet with refugees, aid workers and local residents in the city of Kosice and the village of Vysne Nemecke.
She will also travel to the Slovak capital Bratislava to meet with US embassy staff and government officials.
Nearly 5.5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion on 24 February, according to the UN.
More than 360 000 of them have crossed the border into Slovakia, according to UN figures.
US President Joe Biden has proposed a huge $33 billion package for arming and supporting Ukraine.
