Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska, fresh off her trip to the US to plead for more weapons as her embattled nation fends off invading Russian forces, began looking to the future Saturday.
Zelenska’s second annual Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, convened in Kyiv with virtual attendees from around the world, seeks to plant the seeds of an international reconstruction effort that will rebuild her country’s physical structures — as well as its human capital — once the war ends.
Jill Biden, joining virtually, and 21 other first ladies were in attendance, Zelenska said.
“We should stay united,” the 44-year-old Zelenska told the conference in Ukrainian. “We are inviting everyone, all those who support the victory over brutality, to join us.”
The summit aimed to organize plans for Ukraine’s postwar future, Zelenska said earlier this month as she announced the event.
The conference began with a surprise in-person appearance by President Volodymyr Zelensky, who earned a sustained standing ovation from the crowd.
“Ukraine has the largest global support of any country,” Zelensky said, hailing his nation’s new status as a European Union candidate. “With peace, the rebuilding, the return of our men and women from abroad … we will be moving forward in a united Europe.”
Biden recalled her Mother’s Day visit to Ukraine, and her meetings with refugees there, in her two-minute message.
“As a Ukrainian mother named Anna said to me, ‘There are no borders for our hearts,’” Biden said. The United States, she said, is “working to address the devastating physical and mental impacts of this war,” providing “primary and trauma medical care, food, clean water, and accessible shelter, as well as support to survivors of gender-based violence.”
Ukraine’s recovery is a necessary part of Russia’s defeat, declared UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss – the current front-runner in the race to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister.
“This is not a conflict which needs to be mediated, but one where the aggressor has to lose,” Truss said. “No one can feel secure until Russia retreats and is never able to perpetrate such appalling aggression again … Ukraine’s recovery will be a symbol of the power of freedom and democracy over autocracy.”
The conference, hosted by journalist Piers Morgan, included video appearances by actors Richard Gere, Ashton Kutcher, and Mila Kunis.
“This is not only a physical war, it’s a mental war,” Gere said. “It’s the heart of the people, it’s the soul of the people that will make Ukraine whole again. And even better, when this crisis is over.”
The gathering follows a July 4 conference in Switzerland where President Volodymyr Zelensky outlined an ambitious $750 billion reconstruction plan in the wake of a Russian invasion that has damaged or destroyed at least 80,000 buildings and killed more than 5,000 civilians, including several hundred children.
“This is Russia’s attack on everything that is of value to you and me,” Zelensky said. “Therefore, the reconstruction of Ukraine is not a local project—not a project of one nation—but a joint task of the entire democratic world.”
Direct damage to Ukraine’s physical infrastructure was estimated at $103.9 billion as of June 8, according to the Kyiv School of Economics.
Zelenska visited the White House Wednesday and gave an emotional address to Congress, where she pleaded for further American military assistance.