I never imagined that US President Donald Trump would ask me to greet my husband.

But it happened. At the NATO summit in The Hague, in front of the whole world.

Ironically, I was really disappointed that I wasn’t allowed to cover the meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump, along with other reporters, before President Trump’s press conference.

I had no idea before the summit that journalists would not have the opportunity to cover the meeting or even see the leaders.

Later that day, I had to rush to another location where President Trump was holding a press conference. Hundreds of reporters from around the world were waiting for Trump.

Even though I had prepared my question in my mind, I believed that the chances of actually asking it were very slim. But it wasn’t impossible.

During a meeting between President Zelensky and Trump in the Oval Office last February, I asked President Trump two questions.

He asked if there was still a desire to continue supplying weapons to Ukraine if there was no peace.

He replied that he would.

And when asked what he would do if Russian President Vladimir Putin violated the ceasefire, he replied, “I think something would happen. What if a bomb fell on your head right now?”

So first, I took off my black coat. That way, I would stand out in the sea of ​​people in black suits in the room, so that President Trump could see me. Then I took a seat closest to the stage.

And I kept holding my hand out, hoping he would notice. At one point, he did. And then he pointed at me, saying, “Next.”

My question was, “Are you willing to sell the Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine at a time when Russia is intensifying its bombing of Ukrainian cities?”

Air defense has become a priority for Ukraine, especially these days, as Russia is massacring civilians, especially in Kyiv, Dnipro, and Odessa.

A wise response.

Last year, during the Biden administration, the delivery of these interceptors was prioritized, but Ukraine urgently needs more reinforcements.

So I expected an immediate answer to my question. Instead, President Trump asked if my husband was a soldier from Ukraine.

“Yes, of course,” he replied.

I didn’t expect him to respond to my question like that. And I wasn’t prepared to respond to the most powerful man in the world asking me about my personal life openly. It was never something I had planned.

But when we spoke, President Trump was very considerate and spoke very politely. He acknowledged that we were in an uncomfortable situation.

And then he asked me more questions about me and my family. If you didn’t know, it was like seeing an ordinary Ukrainian whose life was affected by the war. And he seemed to want to speak openly in front of millions of people while he had the opportunity to talk about how the war had affected him.

Request for weapons

Finally, President Trump confirmed that Kiev had requested the weapons. He said he was working to make that happen. But there was more.

Finally, President Trump asked me to say goodbye to my husband. For someone who had been defending Ukraine the day after Russia invaded it, it was suddenly very emotional.

I felt like he recognized my family’s personal contribution to this war and wanted to make me feel good.

Looking back on our conversation, this conversation meant a lot, not just to me, but to my comrades in Ukraine.

I think most Ukrainians would hope that it would actually mean something to President Trump.