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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)
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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.

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Varieties

World’s Oldest Llama Enjoys Comforting Chronically Ill Children in North Carolina 

This 2022 photo provided by Victory Junction shows llama Whitetop sitting at Victory Junction, a camp for chronically ill children, in Randleman, N.C. (Victory Junction via AP) 
This 2022 photo provided by Victory Junction shows llama Whitetop sitting at Victory Junction, a camp for chronically ill children, in Randleman, N.C. (Victory Junction via AP) 
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World’s Oldest Llama Enjoys Comforting Chronically Ill Children in North Carolina 

This 2022 photo provided by Victory Junction shows llama Whitetop sitting at Victory Junction, a camp for chronically ill children, in Randleman, N.C. (Victory Junction via AP) 
This 2022 photo provided by Victory Junction shows llama Whitetop sitting at Victory Junction, a camp for chronically ill children, in Randleman, N.C. (Victory Junction via AP) 

A bucktoothed llama that spends its days comforting chronically ill children at a North Carolina camp founded by NASCAR royalty has been crowned the world’s oldest llama in captivity.

At 27 years and more than 250 days, the selfie- and snuggle-loving llama called Whitetop dethroned Dalai Llama, the Guinness World Records announced last week. Dalai lived on a ranch in Albuquerque and was announced as the oldest in 2023 shortly after its 27th birthday.

Whitetop was donated to the Victory Junction camp in 2006, just two years after race car driver Kyle Petty — the son of NASCAR great Richard Petty — and his family founded the camp in honor of Petty's own son, Adam, who was 19 when he was killed in a 2000 crash while practicing for a race.

The year-round free camp sits on 84 acres (34 hectares) in the Petty hometown of Randleman, North Carolina, about 75 miles (121 kilometers) west of Raleigh. It’s designed for children with conditions that include cancer, kidney and heart disease, cerebral palsy, Spina Bifida and an array of neurological and physical disabilities.

Whitetop has become known for its relaxed, sweet and empathetic personality. His go-to move is to lie still while campers pet him, which can comfort children and give them important sensory input, said Billie Davis, the camp's barn director.

"He really gets to help campers come out of their shell when they interact with him," she said. "He can be kind of intimidating at first, but once they come over to him and love on him and pet on him, they just realize how sweet he is."

One of his best friends is a miniature highland cow named Gus-Gus, who tends to forget Whitetop is a llama and enjoys jumping on him. Whitetop also likes to roll in fresh wood chippings, chomp on soaked alfalfa and pose for selfies.

"If you try to take a picture of him from the side, he’s not into it," Davis said. "He will, like scoot in there and try to get his face from a side profile so that it’s like he’s cheesing."

Davis attributes Whitetop's long life to great veterinary care and exercise, as well as simply loving his job.

The average life span for a llama is 15 years, according to the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance.

Whitetop has developed arthritis in his twilight years but otherwise is very healthy, said Davis. And the only time the llama becomes upset is when Gus-Gus, along with two miniature donkeys named Jed and Jethro, leave him alone.

Stephanie Wilkerson, 33, first went to the camp’s family weekend in 2006 after she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. She said she was initially a little nervous around Whitetop but soon realized petting him and giving him hugs made her feel better.

"When I started stroking him more and more and more, I got more relaxed," said Wilkerson, who lives in Thomasville, North Carolina.

With Whitetop’s newfound fame in longevity, the camp has started selling limited edition T-shirts displaying Whitetop with sunglasses and the words, "Still Spit’n." The proceeds go to the camp.

Although Davis said Whitetop would like people to know not all llamas spit on you.

"Typically, llamas only spit when they are scared, uncomfortable or territorial over something," she said. "And he just loves his job so much that he doesn’t do it."