Olena Zelenska speaks out on heartbreaking scenes in Ukraine—'women have had to give birth in bomb shelters'

Olena Zelenska has spoken out on the heartbreak that's being encountered in Ukraine as she talks about life under siege.

When Russia first invaded Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, Ukraine's First Lady spoke out from a hidden location and said she will not be reduced to  'panic and tears,' as she vowed to 'be calm and confident' in the face of the invasion.

Now, in her most recent interviews, Olena Zelenska has opened up on the atrocities that are being committed in Ukraine and has spoken about how she is still trying to support her country as they continue to be attacked by Russia.

In a heartbreaking statement, the Ukrainian first lady revealed that children are being born into war in Ukraine and are starting their lives below ground in bomb shelters. 

"Thousands of women have had to give birth in bomb shelters, because we’ve seen what can happen to maternity hospitals like the one in Mariupol, which the Russians bombed," said Olena in an interview with Vogue as she spoke openly about the horror being witnessed in her county.

Continuing this frank conversation about the brutality in Ukraine, Olena explained that the people of Ukraine stand united as a nation.

"We are all Ukrainians first, and then everything else. He wanted to divide us, to shatter us, to provoke internal confrontation, but it is impossible to do this with Ukrainians," began Olena in a powerful statement about Putin.

"When one of us is tortured, raped, or killed, we feel that we all are being tortured, raped, or killed."

"We do not need propaganda to feel civic consciousness and to resist. It is this personal anger and pain, which we all feel, that instantly activates the thirst to act, to resist aggression, to defend our freedom," she concluded.

There have been many reports that suggest Russian soldiers have raped and attacked a number of women and young girls in Ukraine. Some reports state that children as young as 14 have been victims of this type of sexual violence and as many as nine women are reportedly pregnant after suffering these brutal attacks from Russian soldiers. 

In an interview with CNN, Olena spoke about how her focus even before the invasion was always on children and their welfare. She commented sadly that her focus had now shifted from their education and nutrition, to simply keeping them alive.

"Children and their needs were one of the main areas of my work," said Olena. "Before the war we launched a reform of school nutrition, preparing for it for several years, to make it tasty and healthy at the same time so that children get sick less."

"Now we are not talking about healthy food, but about food in general. It's about the survival of our children!" said the Ukrainian First Lady with outrage as she added, "We can't talk about a healthy lifestyle for children, [when] the number one goal is to save [them] at all."

As the attacks continue Ukraine’s First Lady shares a heartbreaking message to mothers of Russian soldiers as Olena calls on 'unbiased media' to tell Russian mothers their sons are 'consciously' killing Ukraine's children. This has been to no avail as the war continues in Ukraine and atrocities continue to be committed.

If you are wondering how to help the people of Ukraine during this humanitarian crisis, there are a number of ways that you can donate money or time to help aid the people in need.