Georgia hosts Ukrainian children from Mykolaiv in solidarity initiative
Archil Talakvadze, Georgia’s Deputy Parliament Speaker and the Head of the Friendship Group with the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, on Monday welcomed the children at Tbilisi airport. Photo: Parliament press office
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A group of Ukrainian children and their coaches from the Olympic School of the country’s southern city of Mykolaiv arrived in Georgia on Monday for a 10-day tour involving sports events, entertaining activities and recreation, in a solidarity move for helping citizens of the country defending itself from the ongoing Russian invasion.
Jointly organised by the Georgian Parliament and Tbilisi City Hall, the initiative will see the young visitors hosted at the Academy of Dinamo Tbilisi football club and involved in a range of activities for the holiday season, away from the conflict.
Welcoming the group at Tbilisi airport, Archil Talakvadze, Georgia’s Deputy Parliament Speaker and the Head of the Friendship Group with the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, said the move was intended as a form of solidarity and aimed to allow the children to spend the holiday season “safely and happily”.
It is not for the first time Georgia hosts Ukrainian children amid Russia-Ukraine war. Photo: Parliament press office.
It is especially important for us to express solidarity [for Ukraine], make the children feel at home and allow them to spend their time in Georgia in a safe, calm and positive environment”, Talakvadze said.
Irakli Gvilava, the Head of Tbilisi City Hall Service for Culture, Education, Sports and Youth Affairs, pledged the body’s programme would ensure “entertainment, recreation and sports activities” for the young visitors during their stay.
Ukrainian MP Lyudmila Marchenko has thanked Georgia for the initiative. Photo: Parliament press office.
Lyudmila Marchenko, a Ukrainian MP and a Co-chair of the Georgia Friendship Group in her country’s Parliament, thanked Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze and her Georgian counterpart for organising the initiative and offering a “very interesting” programme for the children.
Mykolaiv, located in the south of Ukraine near the country’s Black Sea coast, has been extensively bombed since the launch of the Russian invasion in February. The city’s close proximity to Kherson, one of the focal points of clashes between the sides, has caused destruction and casualties among the civilian population.
The Georgian Government has supported Ukraine “at all international levels” and will continue to do so on the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of the country, Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili told a meeting of the Government on Monday.
Ukrainian children affected by the ongoing conflict in their country will spend 10 days travelling across Georgia with the support of the Georgian parliament and government, Archil Talakvadze, the Georgian parliament vice speaker, said on Monday.
The Georgian parliament on Friday hosted more than 30 Ukrainian children affected by the ongoing conflict in their country, with MPs giving the young visitors souvenirs after guiding them through the institution and its museum.
The Georgian government on Tuesday said it was extending the assistance programme for Ukrainian nationals stranded in Georgia by the ongoing war in their country to May 1 next year.
Parliament of Georgia on Thursday hosted 46 students of music school from Ukraine's western city of Lviv, with Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, Vice Speaker Archil Talakvadze and MPs awarding the students with certificates and gifts, the legislative body said.