Last Updated:
Ukrainian envoy spoke in length about the women and children displaced in the Russia-Ukraine war. She said many women have fled their own country to defend their children
Lithuanian ambassador to India Diana Mickevičienė and Olena Ilchuk, 3rd Secretary, Consular Department, Embassy of Ukraine in India, at the News18 SheShakti 2025 on August 21. (Image: News18)
Ukrainian envoy Olena Ilchuk on Thursday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for providing humanitarian aid to her country during its war with Russia.
Ilchuk, who is 3rd Secretary at the consular department in the Ukrainian embassy, said this as a message to Modi, who has repeatedly told Russian President Vladimir Putin that this is “not an era of war” and to resolve the conflict with Ukraine through negotiation and dialogue.
Recommended Stories
“First of all, I want to say a huge thank you on behalf of Ukraine for humanitarian aid… India is definitely a Global South leader and we need more countries on the right side of history,” Ilchuk said during a session on ‘Diplomacy through her lens’ alongside Lithuanian ambassador to India Diana Mickevičienė during News18 SheShakti 2025.
Follow News18 SheShakti 2025 here:
She spoke in length about the women and children displaced in the Russia-Ukraine war. She said many women have fled their own country to defend their children.
“Many women have fled to other countries to defend their children and save them from constant shelling. It is difficult to become an immigrant without planning because most of those women, they would not leave the country if not for the war. It is extremely difficult nowadays, especially for women who are trying to move on with their usual lives, with working, with handling studies, families, children, and parents, it is extremely challenging,” she said.
In response to US President Donald Trump giving an upper hand to Putin in the ongoing negotiation for a peace deal to end the war, Ilchuk further said Ukraine was still bombed during their landmark encounter in Alaska.
“When Putin was in Alaska, Ukraine was still bombed so this is everything you need to know about the so-called diplomatic efforts of Russians,” she said. “Over the past almost 400 years, we’ve had a lot of agreements with Russians that have failed because Russians don’t stick to what they promise; and now you see the result… It may seem that it’s a war over territories, which is also true, but if you delve deeply and research history, this is actually an existential war,” she said. “Russians can’t stand the idea of Ukrainian identity, language, mentality, or Ukrainians being a different nation and having their own territory.”
On Russian fears over an impending NATO attack on Russia, Mickevičienė said there is no way for Moscow to make this assumption. She claimed that the last country that attacked Russia was China, and that too in 1969.
“Ask yourself honestly why NATO coming to the borders is a threat; who was the last country that attacked Russia? If you study history, it’s in fact 1969 and it was China. There’s no way of assuming that NATO coming to the border means an attack on Russia,” Mickevičienė said.
Russia has downplayed talks of a bilateral between Putin and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by saying it has to be part of any discussion on security guarantees for Ukraine, tempering hopes for a quick peace deal.
The Kremlin on Wednesday (August 20) said it discussed the idea of “raising the level of representatives” during a 40-minute call with Trump following his meeting with Zelenskyy. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that “seriously discussing security guarantees without the Russian Federation is a utopia, a road to nowhere”. He downplayed the meeting between Trump and European leaders, describing it as a “clumsy” attempt to change the US president’s position on Ukraine.
Russia has also not confirmed that Putin told Trump that he had agreed to meet Zelenskyy and accept some western security guarantees for Ukraine. Lavrov cast doubt on an imminent meeting between the two sides, saying any summit between Putin and Zelenskyy “must be prepared in the most meticulous way” so it does not lead to a “deterioration” of the situation surrounding the conflict.
About the Author
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d…Read More
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d… Read More
Loading comments…
Read More
