Ukrainian ambassador on Texas school shooting: ‘Should not happen in US’

Ukraine’s Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova on Tuesday expressed solidarity with Americans following the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, saying that such violence “should not happen in the U.S.”

“For us, the pain of losing children, especially of that age, is something we live for the past 90 days nonstop, and our condolences go to the American people,” she said.

“This should not happen anywhere. It should not happen in the U.S. and it should not happen in Ukraine.”

Markarova said that Ukraine’s condolences are with the American people, describing the “horrible tragedy” in Texas, where at least 19 children and two adults were killed in a shooting rampage by an 18-year-old on Tuesday. The age of the victims is not yet released but the elementary school included second, third and fourth grades.

“This cycle of hate and brutal shooting and shooting children and civilians in general, should be stopped.” 

Markarova spoke with reporters briefly before addressing the American Jewish Committee’s Diplomatic Seder, where she thanked Washington diplomats, representing dozens of countries, and the American Jewish community for supporting Ukraine in its more than three-month, defensive war against Russia.

Hundreds of Ukrainian children are believed to have been killed amid indiscriminate and alleged targeting of civilian areas by Russian forces during the unprovoked invasion of the nation.

Markarova later tweeted that losing children to gun violence “in a peaceful time is a tragedy beyond understanding. Ukraine knows too well the horror of growing number of lost children.”