Ukraine’s Zelenskyy Meets Greta Thunberg and Others to Address the War’s Effect on Ecology

Greta Thunberg, Swedish environmental activist, member of the newly created international working group on environmental crimes of Russia, speaks during a press briefing following the group first meeting in Kyiv on June 29, 2023. (AFP)
Greta Thunberg, Swedish environmental activist, member of the newly created international working group on environmental crimes of Russia, speaks during a press briefing following the group first meeting in Kyiv on June 29, 2023. (AFP)
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Ukraine’s Zelenskyy Meets Greta Thunberg and Others to Address the War’s Effect on Ecology

Greta Thunberg, Swedish environmental activist, member of the newly created international working group on environmental crimes of Russia, speaks during a press briefing following the group first meeting in Kyiv on June 29, 2023. (AFP)
Greta Thunberg, Swedish environmental activist, member of the newly created international working group on environmental crimes of Russia, speaks during a press briefing following the group first meeting in Kyiv on June 29, 2023. (AFP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Thursday with Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg and prominent European figures who are forming a working group to address ecological damage from the 16-month-old Russian invasion.

The meeting in the Ukrainian capital came as fighting continued around the country.

The governor of the Kherson region, Oleksandr Prokudin, said two people were killed in the region's capital in a Russian strike that hit residences, a medical facility and a school where residents were lined up to receive humanitarian aid. Another person was killed in a morning strike on the village of Bilzoerka, the regional prosecutor's office said.

The presidential office said Thursday morning that at least eight civilians died in Russian attacks during the previous 24 hours.

Zelenskyy also met former US Vice President Mike Pence who visited Kyiv. Pence, an advocate of US support to Ukraine, is running for the 2024 Republican nomination for president.

"We appreciate that both major US parties, the Republican and Democratic, remain united in their support for Ukraine. And, of course, we feel the strong support of the people of the United States," Zelenskyy told Pence, according to the presidential website.

The working group on the environment includes Thunberg, former Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Margot Wallström, European Parliament Vice President Heidi Hautala, and former Irish President Mary Robinson.

Zelenskyy said forming the group is "a very important signal of supporting Ukraine. It’s really important, we need your professional help."

Thunberg said Russian forces "are deliberately targeting the environment and people’s livelihoods and homes. And therefore, also destroying lives. Because this is after all a matter of people."

The objectives of the working group are evaluating the environmental damage resulting from the war, formulating mechanisms to hold Russia accountable, and undertaking efforts to restore Ukraine’s ecology.

In Moscow, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill met with Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the Vatican envoy for seeking peace between Russia and Ukraine.

Kirill, a supporter of the war, said: "It is very important that the Christian communities of East and West take part in the process of reconciliation," according to video circulated by the Russian church.



Missing Dog Returned to Family Home and Rang the Doorbell

Athena, a 4-year-old German Shepherd and Husky mix, escaped her home in Green Cove Springs, Florida, on Dec. 15 - The AP
Athena, a 4-year-old German Shepherd and Husky mix, escaped her home in Green Cove Springs, Florida, on Dec. 15 - The AP
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Missing Dog Returned to Family Home and Rang the Doorbell

Athena, a 4-year-old German Shepherd and Husky mix, escaped her home in Green Cove Springs, Florida, on Dec. 15 - The AP
Athena, a 4-year-old German Shepherd and Husky mix, escaped her home in Green Cove Springs, Florida, on Dec. 15 - The AP

After a nearly weeklong search, Athena found her way home to her Florida family in time for Christmas Eve and even rang the doorbell.

Athena, a 4-year-old German Shepherd and Husky mix, escaped her home in Green Cove Springs, Florida, on Dec. 15, prompting a search among the community and nearby towns for her. Her owner, Brooke Comer, said her family left for church that day and got a message from her neighbor with a picture of Athena outside the house.

Comer panicked. Her family rushed home to find her collar in the crate and no visible opening Athena could have gotten out from. How she escaped remains a mystery.

The next week's events continued to be an “unbelievable” story for Comer, where neighbors and community members from nearby towns would contact her from her missing dog ads and send any footage or photos where they may have spotted Athena. Based on all the alerts Comer got, it looked like Athena made a nearly 20-mile (32-kilometer) roundtrip while she was missing.

At every alert, Comer and her family would go to the spot within minutes and search for Athena — to no avail, according to The AP.

“She was the hide-and-seek all time grand champion,” Comer said. “With every sighting my heart jumped, and it honestly was excitement and then your heart's crushed because we were always one step behind.”

The entire search was a terrifying and scary experience for Comer, who was worried about where her already skittish dog could have gone or could have encountered. That was until 2:30 a.m. Christmas Eve, when she got a Ring video notification from her doorbell and her other dog began barking.

“I was kind of like in a daze, and the dog was barking, and as soon as I heard that ring, I looked at my phone and you could see in the video it was Athena and she was jumping at the door, ringing the doorbell,” Comer said.

As soon as Comer opened the door, Athena bolted inside and went to go lick her son's face, who was on the couch half-asleep. After that, she immediately grabbed her ball to play and shortly went to her cage to go back to sleep.

Comer said the experience gave so much hope because of the neighbors and the large community looking for Athena for the past week. The next plan was to get Athena a full exam, flea and tick treatments and a microchip.