12-year-old writes 'letter of support' to Ukraine President, gets 'blown away' by response

Thomas Handley's letter asked if the President was all right, and showed solidarity with the besieged country. (Image credit: @educationgovuk)

While donating supplies as aid to Ukrainian refugees in Poland, 12-year-old Thomas Handley slipped in a handwritten letter for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

The boy from UK had learnt about the war and wanted to write “to the best president” and that he was “happy to be helping Ukraine”. In it, Handley had asked if the President was all right, and expressed solidarity with the war-torn country.

His "letter of support", however, did reach Zelensky who replied to the boy with a note of his own.

"Dear Thomas, Thank you for your letter of support. I am ok and thank you for your help," the Ukrainian President wrote in his letter.

"We hope to bring peace to Ukraine and food to the citizens of all the country and rebuild the towns. What you say in your letter and what the United Kingdom does to support brings a smile to my face and to many others. Sincerely, Volodymyr Zelensky"

The incident came to light after UK's Department of Education shared the exchange in a Twitter thread.

The Ukrainian president’s letter said:

Dear Thomas,

Thank you for your letter of support. I am ok and thank you for your help. We hope to bring peace to Ukraine and food to the citizens of all the country and rebuild the towns. pic.twitter.com/NpdIePoHcy

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— Department for Education (@educationgovuk) May 5, 2022

Revealing how Handley's letter reached Zelensky, the Department of Education stated that when staff at the refugee centre in Poland found the letter, they forwarded it on. Then, to everyone's surprise, a letter addressed to “Thomas at Trinity School” arrived.

"He was absolutely blown away by it," Handley's teacher Robin Haddon told ItvNews.“He won’t let go of the letter yet! His first response was to show everybody in school, he took it round class to class. It's just so incredible. We are so incredibly proud."

The excitement was shared by Handley's mother, Kimberley, who told BBC Radio Newcastle, "Thomas came home from school waving it in his hand -- I don't know whether we'll be able to prise it out of his hands but we're going to frame it and give it pride of place in our home."