PS MPs Visit Ukraine, Urge Slovakia to Join Coalition for Ukrainian Children

Bratislava/Kiev, May 5 (TASR) - Three members of opposition party Progressive Slovakia (PS), Lucia Plavakova, Beata Jurik and Dana Kleinert, recently completed a working trip to Ukraine, Alec Borovy from PS's media department reported on Monday. Along with European partner parties from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), the MPs held talks with top Ukrainian officials and visited both Kiev and the Chernihiv region, which was besieged by Russian forces for several weeks at the beginning of the war in 2022. Plavakova highlighted that, according to the Ukrainian authorities, more than 19,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia or are missing. However, she believes that the real number is significantly higher. "It is deeply saddening that the Slovak government under Robert Fico has not joined the international coalition for the return of Ukrainian children, which was officially launched over a year ago. We call on Prime Minister Robert Fico to redress this international disgrace," said Plavakova. The MPs visited the village of Yahidne, where Russian troops held over 300 residents in a school basement for a month. "When the survivors described how the Russians treated them, everyone in the room was in tears," said Jurik, noting that this was her third visit to Ukraine this year. According to Kleinert, Russian forces destroyed 109 cultural infrastructure buildings in Chernihiv. The MPs said that despite ongoing attacks, the Ukrainians have managed to rebuild much of their infrastructure over the past three years, including 38 bridges, numerous primary schools, homes and medical facilities. "Despite the war and the heartbreaking stories that Ukrainians shared with us, in many ways they are already ahead of us. They have gained valuable experience and knowledge, which they are eager to share with international partners. This includes innovations, IT systems, medical procedures, social programmes and genuinely inclusive approaches to supporting culture, the arts and the protection of cultural heritage," said Kleinert. mf/df