ANKARA/ISTANBUL

A Ukrainian teacher, whose photo taken by Anadolu in 2022 became a symbol of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, expressed her gratitude to Türkiye for providing a platform to achieve peace in the war-torn country.

"I am truly grateful to Türkiye and (Turkish) President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan for providing a platform for peace," Olena Kurylo told Anadolu in an interview.

Kurylo also thanked the EU and US for their efforts to end the over three-year conflict in Ukraine, but emphasized that the international community should take more steps to achieve peace.

In this regard, she argued Europe could have "taken more action and earlier," and that it could have provided further military aid and allowed Ukraine to retaliate.

Stating that they are grateful for the aid provided to Ukraine up to now, Kurilo said she still believes the aid came "too late" and was "not enough in those critical early stages."

"If the support had been stronger at that time, this war could have been over long ago," she further argued.

Kurylo also expressed doubts that peace will be achieved at the talks, arguing that Russian President Vladimir Putin will make unacceptable demands from Ukraine at the negotiating table, namely the recognition of Ukrainian regions under Moscow's control as Russian.

"Those are our lands. Our constitution clearly states that 'Ukraine is a whole, indivisible. It cannot be divided or transferred'," Kurylo went on to say.

Speaking about Türkiye, Kurylo said she came to the country for a holiday a year before the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, and that she liked Türkiye very much as it was very colorful and unique.

She further said that she has never been to Istanbul, but heard very good things about the city, especially in terms of its architecture and history.

"Türkiye is our neighbor, a beautiful country with a magnificent nature and environment. We would be happy to visit Türkiye, talk to you, and get to know your culture," she added.

Kurylo became a symbol of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine after Anadolu photojournalist Wolfgang Schwan took a photo of her at the start of the Russia-Ukraine war on Feb. 24, 2022.

The picture, in which she was wounded due to a Russian attack on Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv, made headlines in various international newspapers, including The Guardian, The Times, The Sun, Independent, and Bild, and also received wide coverage in international television channels such as CNN and BBC.