"Amazingly Strong": US First Lady Meets Ukrainian Refugees In Romania

While many Ukrainian refugees have already journeyed further, about 80,000 remain in Romania, primarily women with young children.

Sitting in a classroom in the Romanian capital of Bucharest, US first lady Jill Biden met a group of Ukrainian refugee mothers and educators on Saturday, praising the women for their strength and resilience.

Svitlana Salamatova and Anna Sushko, both founders of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) focused on women's issues and education, fled the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv soon after Russia invaded the country on February 24.

Another of the women, Anastasiia Konovalova, left her home in Odesa with her toddler son. Svitlana Gollyak and her 8-year-old daughter hid in a basement in the bomb-shelled city of Kharkiv before heading westwards and on to neighbouring Romania.

Despite their ordeal, the women quickly looked for ways to use their skills to help fellow refugees, setting up a kindergarten and several classrooms for Ukrainian children in Bucharest with help from local NGOs, volunteers and officials.