The Sixth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, titled “The World 2026: Finding Support in Times of Uncertainty,” was held in Kyiv.
The event focused on the resilience of people and systems in the modern world, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
The summit, initiated by Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska, was attended by First Lady of Lithuania Diana Nausėdienė, First Lady of Estonia Sirje Karis, First Lady of Finland Suzanne Innes-Stubb, First Lady of Serbia Tamara Vučić, First Lady of Romania Mirabela Grădinaru, and Slovenia’s First Gentleman Aleš Musar, as well as representatives of the Ukrainian and other governments, and Ukrainian and international intellectuals and artists.
Opening the event, Olena Zelenska said she was especially moved to welcome guests who had come to Kyiv from other countries.
“To come in person, to see, to feel, to understand – this is the quickest way to find an answer to a question I often hear: ‘How do you Ukrainians endure this?’ Because now you know firsthand what Russian shelling and air raid alerts are, and you can see how, after that, the very same people who did not sleep at night, who had to spend the night in the metro, who helped others and calmed children, go to work in the morning, drink their first coffee of the day, fill the streets and take their children to school. This contrast between war and life that goes on surprises only those who have never been to Ukraine,” Zelenska said.
