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Our woman in Kyiv: The Finchley shulgoer and British ambassador to Ukraine

Melina Simmons's Jewish values 'permeate her existence', says rabbi

February 18, 2022 11:13
melinda simmons zelensky
3 min read

To the outside world, she’s our woman in Kiev. The British Ambassador to Ukraine is keeping calm and carrying on despite the imminent threat of Russian invasion.

But Melinda Simmons is also a stalwart shulgoer whose “Jewish values permeate her existence” and who has continued to attend Shabbat services in Finchley by Zoom.

And while she is currently facing unimaginable pressure, the ambassador — who can trace her own ancestry to Ukraine — likes to relax when she can in the same way as many another north Londoner: by baking.

With 100,000 Russian troops on the border, Ms Simmons has been in the eye of a geopolitical storm for weeks. Although hope is growing for a deescalation of the crisis, on Tuesday she spoke from Kiev to tell Radio 4’s Today programme: “We’re still advising British nationals to leave the country as soon as they can.”

Topics:

Ukraine