EP President Roberta Metsola Awarded Order Of Princess Olga By President Zelenskyy
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has been awarded the Order of Princess Olga of the first degree by Ukrainian President Vlodomir Zelenskyy.
An EU Delegation in Ukraine announced on Twitter that Metsola was bestowed he prestigious honour during during her visit to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, last week.
This comes shortly after her surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, where she met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukrainian Parliament Chairperson Ruslan Stefanchuk, after the latter invited her.
According to the tweet, the honour was bestowed upon President Metsola for her “significant personal contribution to the consolidation of international support for Ukraine in countering Russian aggression”.
Taking to Twitter, Metsola expressed how she is “honoured and humbled” to receive the award. “It means a great deal to me personally & is symbolic of the special bond the European Parliament has with Ukrainians,” she said.
The Order of Princess Olga is a Ukrainian civil decoration, featuring Olga of Kyiv. It is typically bestowed upon women for “personal merits in state, production, scientific, educational, cultural, charity and other spheres of social activities, for upbringing children in families”.
Metsola is the 23rd person to receive this award since it was established by a Presidential Decree in 1997. The Order has three different classes, for which different medals are awarded. Metsola was awarded the first and highest class, meaning that she received a gilded medal with four rectangular amethysts.
EP President Roberta Metsola and a medal similar to the one which she was awarded
Tensions in Europe have been increasing since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started on 24th February. Metsola, who was elected just over a month before the invasion on 18th January, has been outspoken against this invasion and has led the European Parliament in the push for action to be taken against Putin.
According to reports, more than 10 million people have fled their homes in Ukraine, with four million of those people seeking refuge abroad and over six million being displaced in the country itself.
According to the OHCHR, there have been 3,455 civilian casualties in the country, with 1,417 killed and 2,038 injured. These are just official numbers, however, the actual figures may be considerably higher due to delays in reports.
If you wish to help Ukraine from Malta, but don’t know how, check out these Maltese organisations that are collecting funds and supplies to send to Ukraine. Alternatively, you can donate directly to some of these foreign organisations, as well as find a list of different things you could do on this webpage.
This article is part of a content series called Ewropej. This is a multi-newsroom initiative part-funded by the European Parliament to bring the work of the EP closer to the citizens of Malta and keep them informed about matters that affect their daily lives. This article reflects only the author’s view. The European Parliament is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains
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