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While Queen Elizabeth hasn’t released a statement on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, she has privately supported families fleeing the conflict. It’s been revealed that the 95-year-old monarch made a “generous donation” to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, which helps provide food, water, shelter and healthcare to refugees and displaced families.
On Thursday, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which is made up of 15 UK aid charities, thanked the Queen for her donation tweeting, “Many thanks to Her Majesty The Queen for continuing to support the Disasters Emergency Committee and for making a generous donation to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. @RoyalFamily #UkraineAppeal.”
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge also reportedly made a private donation, according to The Telegraph . William and Kate have previously said that they “stand with” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and all of Ukraine’s people.
In a personal message shared last Saturday, the royal couple said, “In October 2020 we had the privilege to meet President Zelenskyy and the First Lady to learn of their hope and optimism for Ukraine’s future. Today we stand with the President and all of Ukraine’s people as they bravely fight for that future,” adding an emoji of the Ukrainian flag. William and Kate signed the message “W & C.”
Earlier this week, President Zelensky tweeted that he and his wife, First Lady Olena Zelenska, “are grateful to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge @RoyalFamily that at this crucial time, when Ukraine is courageously opposing Russia’s invasion, they stand by our country and support our brave citizens. Good will triumph.”
On Ash Wednesday, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall showed their support for the Ukranian community with a visit to the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in London. The Prince of Wales said, “Our thoughts and prayers, however inadequate they may be, are with all of you at this most critical of times.”
The future King publicly spoke out on March 1 about the Russian invasion. In a speech remembering Sir David Amess, who was killed in a terrorist incident last year, Charles said: “What we saw in the terrible tragedy in Southend was an attack on democracy, on an open society, on freedom itself.”
The Prince continued, “We are seeing those same values under attack today in Ukraine in the most unconscionable way. In the stand we take here, we are in solidarity with all those who are resisting brutal aggression.”