Last Saturday, the European Union (EU) delivered a total of 371 school buses to communities across Ukraine, with the aim of “restoring innocence and childhood” to Ukrainian children, the Commission President announced.
“This brutal war has robbed thousands of innocent children of their innocence and childhood. But it will not deprive them of the bright and happy future they deserve. So let’s help get Ukrainian children to school safely,” Ursula von der Leyen said at a press conference, flanked by Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska, at the end of a one-day visit to Kiev.
The buses are intended for schools in the Kiev, Sumi, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv and Chernihv regions.
Of the total, 271 buses have been sent to Ukraine as part of a joint effort between European public and private organizations, within the framework of the European Civil Protection Mechanism.
The remaining 100 were purchased by the Commission.
“This is the journey to the future of our children, theirs and the whole country, in the middle of this war. That is what buses represent, that is why they are so important to us,” reflected Olena Zelenska.
Von der Leyen’s sixth visit to the capital of Ukraine was accompanied by a group of journalists, including from Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA), which acts as a ‘pool’ for the European Newsroom, of which Lusa is a part.
Early in the morning, Von der Leyen met with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, and congratulated him on “excellent progress” in Brussels’ recommendations, so that the candidate country could convince the European Council that it is time to to take steps towards formal negotiations, just over a year after it was granted candidate status together with Moldova.
The Commission President also met with the Ukrainian Prime Minister and spoke in the parliament of the country, which has been trying to fend off an invasion from Moscow for more than a year and a half.
Source: DN
