Tears f low as Kate welcomes refugees
MANY children would feel daunted to meet a future Queen. But one little girl thought nothing of clambering on to Kate’s knee for a picture when she met the Princess of Wales yesterday.
Zlata Yeromenko, five, was one of several Ukrainian refugees to meet the princess during her visit to Reading Ukrainian Community Centre in Berkshire.
Kate, 40, praised the country’s ‘bravery and resilience’ in a series of moving conversations with families who have fled Vladimir Putin’s barbaric invasion.
Refugee Galina Bolebrukh, 39, broke down as she described the horrors of fleeing Kyiv with her three-year-old son and her mother.
As she wiped away tears, Kate reassured her: ‘It’s understandable, everything you have experienced. I wish
we could do more.’ Afterwards Mrs Bolebrukh, whose husband is fighting on the frontline in Ukraine, said: ‘I told [Kate] how horrible and difficult it was. We had to make a decision very quickly. We only took some shirts and trousers and left.
‘She has a big heart. She tried to make me feel better and said everything was all right.’