European Parliament president Roberta Metsola only informed her mother about her visit to Ukraine moments before she was due to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Metsola gave a detailed account of what took place behind the scenes of her Ukraine trip while speaking to journalism and photography students from the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) who visited her in Brussels as guests of the European Commission Representation in Malta.
Metsola said she had started thinking about going to Ukraine and had even briefly discussed the matter with her husband, saying that she “could be going” to Kyiv, which elicited an obvious “No way” from the latter. However, she felt a strong sense of duty that she should actively show solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
“So when there was a phone call by the speaker of the Ukrainian parliament the following day inviting me to address their parliament, it was only natural for me to accept. I informed Josep Borrell, the EU Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, about it and informed my colleagues, but because of security reasons, we had to keep the trip secret until it actually happened. And this is where things started getting complicated. The journey was long, with many detours, and took longer than expected. What should have been an eight-hour trip actually ended up as a 12-hour trip.
“It was there that I decided to phone my mother, when I was already deep in Ukrainian territory. I didn’t want her to learn about the visit from the media. My mother’s reaction was typical of any mother. “Se tgħallini” (You’re going to kill me with worry) was her reaction,” she said.
Metsola said she was in Ukraine when the horrid news about the atrocities in Bucha was being published. “The meeting with President Zelensky was a very important one and it was very emotional being in the Ukrainian parliament. It was an experience passing through sandbags and defence lines to deliver the message that Europe is standing with Ukraine and condemning Russia in this conflict, and to do that in person.
“After my speech in parliament, many members of parliament were speaking to me, sharing their experiences of war, and suddenly the Ukrainian security people said they were becoming concerned and that I should leave. I never felt unsafe while in parliament. Once inside, it was actually quite normal. But outside, it was a ghost town. You’d pass by a restaurant and look inside, and you’d realise people had left in a hurry.
It was the best move to show the world that the European Union would be giving its support to Ukraine- Roberta Metsola
“It was long to get there and back, and only a few hours were spent on the ground. But it was an extremely important decision and ultimately it was the best move to show the world that the European Union would be giving its support to Ukraine. We have not seen the end of this unfortunately, but Europe will continue to stand with Ukraine. Ukraine is one of us and we have to practise solidarity, not simply preach it,” Metsola said.