Jill Biden’s trip to Romania and Slovakia includes spending Mother’s Day with Ukrainian refugees

By Kate Bennett, CNN

First lady Jill Biden departs Thursday evening on a trip to Romania and Slovakia, where she will spend time with several Ukrainian families displaced by the Russian invasion, according to a release from the East Wing.

The first lady’s intense, four-day schedule of events, meetings and visits includes Mother’s Day activities in Kosice, Slovakia, where Biden will visit a refugee center and two schools.

“Dr. Biden is inspired by the resilience and strength of the Ukrainian people and hopes to communicate that Americans are standing with them,” the release said.

Biden will also meet with Slovakian President Zuzana Caputova.

On Saturday, the first lady will hold a meeting in Bucharest, Romania, with that country’s first lady, Carmen Iohannis, who — like Biden — is an educator and has also kept her job as an English teacher at a local college during her tenure.

Biden’s first stop will be Friday at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base in Romania, where she will meet with US and NATO military leadership. She will also visit with troops stationed at the base and participate in a meal service before departing for Bucharest.

On Saturday evening, Biden will travel to Bratislava, Slovakia, where she will meet with US Embassy staff before departing the following day for Kosice and Vysne Nemecke, Slovakia, to meet with Ukrainian refugees. Biden will also greet Slovaks who have opened their homes to families from Ukraine seeking refuge. More than 350,000 Ukrainians have fled to Slovakia, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Biden wraps her trip on Monday by meeting with members of the Slovak government before departing for the United States.

The trip will be the first lady’s second solo foreign trip; in July, she went to Japan to attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.

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