President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian leaders have spent the last three months drawing the world's attention to the atrocities of Russia's invasion. On Wednesday, they took to social media to stand in sympathy and solidarity with a tragedy unfolding across the world.
Zelenskyy and other top politicians expressed condolences to the community of Uvalde, Texas, where 21 people — including 19 students — were killed in one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.
"Deeply saddened by the news of the murder of innocent children in Texas," Zelenskyy wrote. "Sincere condolences to the families of the victims, the people of the US and @POTUS over this tragedy. The people of Ukraine share the pain of the relatives and friends of the victims and all Americans."
Zelenskyy also referenced the shooting while speaking by video link at a conference on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, in which he drew a direct parallel between the shooting and the war in Ukraine.
"I feel it is my personal tragedy when children are killed in Texas, and now in my country Russian military is killing our children," he said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a tweet that Ukraine stands in solidarity with the U.S. at this difficult time.
"As a nation that goes through the pain of losing innocent young lives, Ukraine shares the pain of our U.S. friends," he added.
Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S., told reporters on Wednesday that such violence should not happen in the U.S., Ukraine or anywhere.
Speaking before she addressed the American Jewish Committee's Diplomatic Seder, she said "this cycle of hate and brutal shooting, and shooting children and civilians in general, should be stopped."
"[Losing] children to gun violence in peaceful time is a tragedy beyond understanding," she wrote on Twitter. "Ukraine knows too well the horror of growing number of lost children."
Reports from the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights suggest that, as of earlier this month, at least 238 Ukrainian children had been killed in the war and another 347 injured.
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