Portugal welcomes Ukrainian mothers and children in 'remarkable' civil society initiative

A group of 15 Ukrainian mothers and 18 children, relatives of soldiers killed or missing in action, landed at Lisbon airport shortly after 4pm on Saturday. They arrived on Portuguese soil with their suitcases and luggage in hand, to enjoy three weeks of peace.

The initiative comes from the Ukraine support organisation 'HelpUA.PT - Ukrainian Refugees UAPT', as part of the European Programme for Psychological and Cultural Support for Families at War.

The programme aims to provide an "intensive psychological rehabilitation, cultural integration and personal training," and will be fully administered under "permanent accompaniment of Portuguese and Ukrainian psychologists, therapists and volunteers".

The journey began on Ukrainian soil. The group, which includes children aged between five and 14, departed from the Chernihivska region in northern Ukraine, close to the border with Russia, where the conflict is raging in what is one of the most active frontlines.

They travelled overland to Poland and, from Warsaw, took a flight to Lisbon.

"It took 20 hours by bus. We only made it to the border because the Ukrainian military police escorted the bus and cleared the roads that were closed," explained Ângelo Neto, Vice President of HelpUA.PT.

The group arrived to spend three weeks in tranquillity, engaging in activities focused on rehabilitation, civic and cultural integration.

"We really want these children to be able to experience peace during their time here," says Rita Júdice, Minister of Justice, who was at the airport representing the government.

"To have an experience of normality, because many of them, between the ages of six and fourteen, have no memory other than that of war," she added.

"And so being able to give them the experience of normality, where they can be children, where they can be mothers and grandmothers, there's a grandmother too, will be what Portugal can do, at this stage, for this group that is here."

"As Minister of Justice, I can't help but emphasise that this welcome is also an affirmation of values, because justice doesn't end in the courts. Justice is also lived out in the defence of human rights, in the protection of the most vulnerable and in not normalising violence against anyone, especially children," noted the justice chief.

Júdice also hailed the project as a "remarkable" civil society initiative, as she stressed that the "Portuguese government maintains its firm and continuous support for Ukraine, both in humanitarian, political and international terms".

'Bravery runs in their blood'

Teresa Leal Coelho, ambassador of the association responsible and former Social Democrat MP, who travelled with the group to Ukraine, explains that these families come from cities that have been ravaged by the war, but they all still want to maintain a connection with their hometowns.

"Bravery runs in their blood. It's amazing how resilient they are. At the moment, many of these towns have curfews," she explained to journalists.

"These are people who don't want to leave the region where they live, they want to maintain ties with the region where they live, they continue with a normal life, despite the war, despite spending many nights in bunkers."

The group that arrived in Portugal was meticulously selected by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence.

"Naturally, we can't choose ourselves. We don't know all the realities, but in this case, the request from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence was to choose families from a region most affected by the war," said Coelho.

For three weeks, these children will stay at the Fénix centre in Ourém, which, in 2024, received a group of combatants and war wounded for rehabilitation. They will then return to their normal lives after said duration - as is their wish.

"They will return to their hometowns and continue their lives," says the organisation's ambassador.

"(In) other initiatives we've had, for example a refugee centre that was initially set up to receive children and mothers, where they were integrated for eight and a half months, after a while they all said: 'no, we want to go back, we want to be with our husbands, with our fathers, we want to know what's going on'. So that's what I'm saying: bravery runs in their blood and they're defending our freedom and our Europe," noted Coelho.

Ângelo Neto, Vice President of HelpUA.PT and the chief responsible for the Fénix centre, stressed the importance of the project for the rehabilitation of these people who are now arriving in Portugal, adding that they aim to embark on similar projects to this in the future.

"We're talking about almost a million mothers in vulnerable situations in Ukraine. This project started in the UK, which received 400 families during 2025, and I hope, on behalf of Portugal, that we will exceed 500," he said.