British, Swedish and Canadian Ambassadors to Visit Kharkiv

The city is returning to the political map of the world: three ambassadors visited Kharkiv at once – Melinda Simmons, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom to Ukraine, Larissa Galadza-Cronin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Ukraine, and Maria Lindgren Saltanova, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Sweden in Ukraine joined Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.

The representatives of foreign countries visited Svobody Square, where they toured the House of Councils. On the morning of 1 March 2022, the occupiers fired two Kalibr missiles at the building. The ceilings between several floors collapsed, killing 29 people and injuring 35.

After taking a few photos of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration building, the ambassadors walked through the central square of Kharkiv. They stopped next to Derzhprom, a 13-story reinforced concrete skyscraper. The phrase “Kharkiv is reinforced concrete” has become the city’s new brand.

“It is a great honour to stay here with you. Thank you for showing how life goes on here. And how our support is relevant to your needs. We are here for the first time since the beginning of the full-scale war, but I want you to know that Canada has been standing with you since the first days. And we will stand with you until victory,” Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Ukraine Larissa Galadza-Cronin shares her emotions.

The United Kingdom is among the countries that have been supporting Ukraine since before last February. Providing tanks, armoured vehicles, and artillery is only a small part of what this country gave to Ukraine during the invasion.

“The enemy wants us to lose support, to make the West exhausted, to keep the world from hearing about its atrocities against humanity. The enemy does not want the world to know how many children have been killed by its missiles. 50% of schools have been destroyed by its missiles here in Kharkiv. That universities and schools are not working today. It is available only online because a missile takes 40 seconds to reach Kharkiv, and we will not have time to evacuate the children. The enemy wants the destruction of Kharkiv to be a punishment for disobedience. They wish Kharkiv to remember forever what the Russian occupier’s boot is like,” adds Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk.

Related: In January 2023, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock came to Kharkiv on an unannounced visit. She became the first top Western politician to visit the city, just 40 kilometers from the Russian border.