Ten years old Ukrainian girl asked the British Queen in a letter to stop Putin

1239 0
In the spring of 2015, the whole world shared a photo of the three-year-old Sasha Matvienko from Kropyvnytskyi, who held the Order of Courage in her hand. The award was given posthumously to her father who was killed during the war on Donbas in August 2014.
photo: Kropyvnytskyi city council

photo: Kropyvnytskyi city council

Ten-year-old Sasha Matvienko has grown up and wrote a letter to the Queen of Great Britain, asking her to tell Russian President Vladimir Putin to take his tanks and his soldiers away from Ukraine. This was reported by the Kropyvnytskyi City Council.

«Your Majesty! I, Sasha Matvienko, am from the Ukrainian city of Kropyvnytskyi. I am 10 years old, 7 of which I live without a dad. He was a soldier, he was killed in the war in Donbas. I am very sad that my mother and I are now alone. Now, Russia is frightening my country again with a great war, and the war is when fathers and many, many peaceful people die. I beg you, tell Putin to take his tanks and his soldiers off our land. I saw in the photo that you have little great-grandchildren. They are happy because they have a father and a mother. I wish you peace and good health. I very much believe that you, dear Lady, Queen of Great Britain, will read my letter and ask Russian Putin not to kill Ukrainian people,» – the daughter of the deceased Hero wrote in a letter to Elizabeth II.

She composed the letter together with her mother Iryna, and Sasha’s English tutor helped with the translation. 

«My daughter and I thought: what can we do to help? Our father did everything in his power, he is not with us, but this does not mean that we have to sit idly by in such a difficult time for Ukraine. It is possible that this esteemed lady, after reading our message, will be concerned about our pain and the fate of Ukraine and will make at least an attempt to influence our northern neighbour and restrain its aggression,» – Iryna Matvienko said.

It will be recalled that in the spring of 2015, a photo of a three-year-old girl from Kropyvnytskyi, Sasha Matvienko, holding the Order of Courage in her hand, flew around the world. She received the award instead of her father, border guard Andrii Matvienko, who was mortally wounded near Savur-Mohyla in Donbas while rescuing wounded comrades from the shelling.

Despite the heavy fire of Russian mercenaries, he took his brothers to Amvrosiyivka. During one of the flights, a car exploded, and Junior Sergeant Matvienko was taken to hospital, but there was no chance of rescue. The heart of the Ukrainian soldier stopped beating on 7 August 2014.

It will be recalled that Putin officially recognized the independence of the L/DNR. Most world leaders have condemned Putin’s decision because it violates international law, as well as Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Ukraine has called on Western partners not to allow Russia to start World War III. After the recognition of the so-called «L/DNR», Putin signed a decree on the introduction of Russian troops in the occupied Donbas. There are about 150,000 Russian servicemen on the border with Ukraine.

Already 27 EU member states have unanimously approved the first package of sanctions against Russia after Vladimir Putin’s decision to recognize the «independence» of the self-proclaimed «L/DNR». In addition, US President Joe Biden said that the US government is imposing financial sanctions on two Russian banks, oligarchs and ways to repay Russia’s public debt.

The US president also promised to impose personal sanctions on a number of Russian top businessmen and members of their families, but did not name them. According to him, the Russian elite close to the Kremlin should also «suffer» from Russia’s violation of international law.

Translated by Vitalii Holich

You can read a Ukrainian language version of this story here.

Follow Lviv Now on Facebook and Instagram. To receive our weekly email digest of stories, please follow us on Substack.

Lviv Now is an English-language website for Lviv, Ukraine’s «tech-friendly cultural hub.» It is produced by Tvoe Misto («Your City») media-hub, which also hosts regular problem-solving public forums to benefit the city and its people.

 



Читайте також:
+
Щодня наша команда працює над тим, щоб інформувати Вас про найважливіше в місті та області. За роки своєї праці ми довели, що «Твоє місто» - це медіа, якому справді можна довіряти. Долучіться до Спільноти Прихильників «Твого міста» та збережіть незалежне медіа для громади. Кожен внесок має значення!