“I can not explain because I do not know myself and I am a teacher,” Viktoriia Kutocha, who had her arms around her 7-year-old daughter, Yulia, told Biden.
At one point, Kutocha asked “why?” appears to be seeking an explanation for Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine on 24 February.
‘It’s so hard to understand,’ replied the first lady.
The 24-hour facility is one of six refugee centers in Slovakia that provide an average of 300 to 350 people daily with food, showers, clothing, on-site emergency services and other services, according to the White House.
Biden, who wears a flower corsage on his wrist – a Mother’s Day gift from President Joe Biden – also dropped in at a Slovak primary school that has taken in displaced students.
Slovak and Ukrainian mothers gathered at the school for a Mother’s Day event, while their children made crafts to give them as gifts.
The bite went from table to table to meet the mothers and children. She told some of the women that she would come “and say that the hearts of the American people are with the mothers of Ukraine.”
“I just wanted to come and show you our support,” she said before leaving for the border village of Vysne Nemecke to visit its border processing facilities.
Biden is on a four-day visit to Eastern Europe to highlight US support for Ukrainian refugees and for allied countries such as Romania and Slovakia, which provide them with a safe haven.
She spent Friday and Saturday in Romania, visiting U.S. troops and meeting with Ukrainian refugee mothers and children.