Zelensky honors unity of Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian people on Day of National Embroidery

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared in an embroidered shirt on May 18, when Ukraine celebrates Vyshyvanka Day (Day of National Embroidery) and honors the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Crimean Tatar Genocide.

Rubryka reports that the shirt's ornament has a very special meaning, said Zelensky on Instagram.

First Lady Olena Zelenska, who is now on an official visit to Seoul, wore an embroidered dress carefully brought from home.

"This year, two meanings are united by one date, May 18. Seventy-nine years ago, on this day, the Soviet authorities began the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people. The people they wanted to erase, deprive them of their homes and their life rights. But the people survived. And they will live freely!" Zelensky explained how exactly these meanings were combined.

Every year, the president wears an embroidered shirt on May 16.

"Today, I am wearing a special embroidered shirt with ornaments that symbolize the unity of the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar peoples," he said. "Symbols of our strength and our desire to live in our home. Let this year's Vyshyvanka Day in Ukraine be a reminder of what our people have had to go through and how strong our cultures are. Eternal memory to all our people whose lives were taken by totalitarian regimes! We honor our peoples, their strength, and culture!"

Today in Seoul, the first lady also wore an embroidered dress.

"Ukrainian embroidered shirts are on the streets of Seoul. Carefully brought from home, specially handed over by relatives, ordered from local craftsmen, ancient, with a history, and modern, which are just beginning their history," Zelenska wrote. "Today, I see it with my own eyes because I meet with the Ukrainian diaspora in the Republic of Korea. More than two thousand of our fellow citizens are here, but this small community is a powerful driving force of rallies, events, and educational work supporting Ukraine."