Rosanna Davison has reached out to her Ukrainian surrogate, after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of her country.
The former Miss World and her husband Wes Quirke welcomed their first child Sophia via gestational surrogate in November 2019.
The woman who carried their baby daughter was based in Kyiv, and the couple spent a lot of time in the Ukrainian capital during their surrogacy journey.
Taking to Instagram on Thursday night, Rosanna shared an old photo of herself in Kyiv as she expressed her shock over the situation in Ukraine.
She wrote: “Just feeling completely shocked and devastated today at the situation in Ukraine.”
“We got to know beautiful Kiev very well in 2019, we made friends there & will always have a link to it as it’s Sophia’s country of birth.”
“Kiev is an incredibly interesting city, rich in culture, history & diversity with wonderful people.”
“I’ve been in touch today with our lovely surrogate who is also praying for peace & hoping to stay safe with her family,” she added.
“Sending so much love to the people of Ukraine & everyone affected by this.”
Earlier this month, the 37-year-old said she was thinking of couple’s planning to travel to Ukraine to begin the surrogacy process amid tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
Sharing photos from her first trip to Kyiv in 2019, she wrote: “A little throwback to this week three years ago.”
View this post on Instagram
“We had just arrived in Kiev, where we spent 3 weeks for the egg retrieval part of our surrogacy journey to have Sophia, and we’re lucky that it was a very positive experience from beginning to end 💕.”
“Just wanted to send my love and support to couples planning to travel to Ukraine to begin the process or welcome their new babies in the coming days and weeks.”
“My thoughts are with you during what must be a considerably stressful time ❤️@irishfamiliesthroughsurrogacy is offering great support, reassurance and advice for those involved 👏🏻,” Rosanna added.
Georgie Crawford and her husband Jamie are among Irish couple’s affected by the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
The couple were matched with a Ukrainian surrogate in December, but earlier this week the podcast host revealed they had lost their surrogate to another family after they decided to pause the process due to the current situation.
Russian president Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two.
The Ukrainian government has since revealed the invasion has already cost the lives of 137 civilians, and multiple military personnel.
The invasion occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning after Putin announced a “special military operation” in the Donbas area of Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin threatened “consequences you have never faced in your history” for “anyone who tries to interfere with us.” His speech, intended to justify the invasion of Ukraine, seemed to come close to threatening nuclear war. https://t.co/98DJWNFYOo pic.twitter.com/AEUXpmJ2Uy
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 24, 2022
The Russian leader also issued a warning to other counties who tried to intervene, saying they “must know that Russia’s answer will be immediate, and will lead to such consequences as you never experienced in your history.”
A number of world leaders, including US president Joe Biden and UK prime minister Boris Johnson, have since condemned Moscow’s “unprovoked and unjustified” attack of Ukraine, and announced serious sanctions against Russia.
In a televised address on Thursday, Joe Biden said: “President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering.”
“Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way. The world will hold Russia accountable.”
“Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences.” – President Joe Biden announces additional sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine: https://t.co/mWe3ZpHotI pic.twitter.com/ZqpGypalyl
— CNN (@CNN) February 24, 2022
