Tears flowed around the room as Alina Ilchuk's letter to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was read aloud.

The 11-year-old mentioned her father, Serhiy Ilchuck, who was hailed as a hero after being fatally shot by Russian troops while evacuating around 300 Ukrainians near Kyiv about a month into the war. Alina told Zelenskyy that she and her family remain in deep mourning over her dad.