The Caradja Cantacuzino Association announced that the organisation's Vice President, Princess Brianna Caradja, has become the first Romanian to receive the prestigious Golden Heart award from Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, informs Agerpres.
The ceremony took place on August 21, as part of the solemn solidarity action organized in Bucharest by the Embassy of Ukraine in Romania, on the occasion of Ukraine's Independence Day. The event brought together under the international banner #StandWithUkraine Romanian officials, members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of the civil society and the Ukrainian community in Romania. Attending the solemn ceremony were Secretary of State with Romania's Foreign Affairs Ministry Luca Niculescu, the British, Canadian, French, German, Italian and Japanese heads of mission, the head of the European Commission's Representation to Romania, representatives of the Ukrainian community in Romania, of the Romanian civil society, as well as members of the diplomatic corps and military attachés accredited to Bucharest.
The presidential Golden Heart medal is presented annually to individuals and groups who have provided constant support to the Ukrainian people in times of crisis and war. Among the recipients of the award are:
- Benjamin Wittes - Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution (USA)
- Marc Cools - President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (Belgium)
- Yoshihiko Okabe - Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Kobe (Japan)
- Alfred Riedl - Mayor of Grafenworth (Austria)
- Eirik Lae Solberg - Governing Mayor of Oslo (Norway)
- Klen Jaarats - Executive Director of the Estonian Center for International Development (Estonia)
Princess Brianna Caradja thus joins a list of international personalities with a key role in supporting Ukraine in these difficult times.
"This distinction is not only a recognition of the association's remarkable involvement, but also a symbol of solidarity between Romania and Ukraine. Princess Brianna Caradja has been, since the first days of the conflict, an active voice and a linchpin for Ukrainian refugees, and the award bestowed by President Zelensky confirms the importance of these efforts," said Maximilien Caradja Johnson, President of the Caradja Cantacuzino Association.
Since the beginning of the conflict, the Caradja Cantacuzino Association, through the direct involvement of Princess Briana Caradja, has sent over 800 tons of humanitarian aid to Ukraine and to Ukrainian refugees in Romania. The donations worth approximately 3 million euros include medical kits (IFAKs), power generators, metal detectors for mine neutralization, protective equipment, backpacks for military doctors, food for the population and the army, animal feed and tens of kilometers of camouflage nets.
The shipments went to the Romanian-Ukrainian border points (Siret, Isaccea), the refugee centers in Bucharest and Ilfov or the Northern Rail Station, as well to locations in Ukraine, including areas near the frontline. The direct beneficiaries were several Ukrainian military units, such as the 1st Separate Feodosia Battalion of Marines, the 26th Brigade (Kherson), the 110th Brigade (Avdiivka), the 82nd Separate Airborne Assault Brigade, the 57th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade, the 10th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade, the 79th Separate Assault Brigade, the 14th National Guard Brigade, the Azov 3rd International Battalion, as well as volunteer doctors from critical areas such as Bahmut.
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