First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska met with First Lady of the Republic of Türkiye Emine Erdoğan in Ankara.
One of the key topics of the meeting was the launch of Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar studies in Türkiye.
“The Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies, we launched last year, aims not only to introduce our great historical and cultural heritage to the world, but also to present modern Ukraine on the global stage,” the President's wife noted.
Olena Zelenska also thanked Emine Erdoğan for her support of Ukraine, in particular for her regular participation in the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen and assistance in the evacuation of Ukrainian children from orphanages. Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian aggression, more than 1,000 of these children have been temporarily sheltered in Türkiye.
The First Lady visited the children of the Specialized Psychoneurological Children's Home №3 “Sonechko” of the Odessa City Council. 34 orphans with disabilities came to Türkiye at the beginning of the Russian invasion thanks to an agreement between the First Ladies. Since then, 24 children have already found new families in Ukraine, and 10 remain in Türkiye.
The children have comfortable classrooms for education and development, as well as bedrooms. They receive full medical care and rehabilitation.
“I will always be grateful to Türkiye and personally to Ms. Emine for the safety and hospitality provided to these children. This is effective assistance,” Olena Zelenska emphasized.
In addition, the First Lady visited the Nation's Library of the Presidency of Türkiye, which is one of the largest libraries in the world, and donated books as part of her Ukrainian Bookshelves project.
“I am proud that among the two and a half million books from around the world, there are Ukrainian books on a special Ukrainian bookshelf. We opened it back in 2022 and have been replenishing it regularly since then,” the President's wife stated.
In total, more than 50 thousand Ukrainian books are available in 200 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America as part of this project.
“This is the way Ukraine speaks to the world through its history, culture, and philosophy. Those who want to will certainly hear,” the First Lady concluded.
