Ukrainian Ambassador to Sweden Svitlana Zalishchuk has begun her work in the country by presenting her credentials to King Carl XVI Gustaf, during which she told him the story of the Swedish flag he had gifted in 2008 to a village in Kherson Oblast.

Source: Zalishchuk on Facebook, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Zalishchuk reiterated that King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden had visited Ukraine in 2008. Apart from the capital, he visited the village of Staroshvedske (Gammalsvenskby) on the banks of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast. It is now called Zmiivka. This is the village where Swedes had lived since the 18th century. Despite spending several centuries away from their homeland, they preserved their identity: traditions, language and church rites.

Quote:"I knew that the king cared about this village. Although its community cannot currently live in Zmiivka due to heavy attacks, and although the church was burnt down, the school damaged and many buildings destroyed, one thing was saved. And that is the Swedish flag, which King Carl XVI Gustaf personally brought to the village in 2008."

Details:This flag had proudly hung in the village council ever since the king’s visit, up until the full-scale invasion.

Quote:"The Russians occupied the village in 2022. They tried to take the flag because Sweden is ‘not a friendly’ country. But Mykola Kuryvchak, the village head, somehow managed to save the flag, hiding it for eight and a half months. The flag survived, though it was damaged because it had been kept in a house that was hit. It was taken to a safe place after the liberation of the village."

"Now, the villagers, who are also internally displaced because of the same [Russian] empire, quickly gathered and took a special photo with this ‘wounded’ flag for His Majesty. To show that while the Russians may destroy our buildings, there are some important things they cannot get to."

Details:The ambassador presented the king with the photo and told him the story. "Imagine how moved he was…"

Background: 

• On 11 September, Swedish Defence Minister Pål Jonson stated that Ukraine would receive a 20th package of military assistance worth 9.2 billion kronor (around US$982.5 million).
• Ukraine and Sweden recently agreed on joint production of defence products in both countries. 
• It was also reported that Sweden, Norway and Denmark will jointly allocate approximately NOK 5 billion (about US$486 million) to a NATO initiative to supply American weapons to Ukraine.

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