Ukrainian Ambassador Dies in Cuba

HAVANA TIMES — The Ukrainian ambassador to Cuba, Tetiana Saienko, died Monday morning in Havana at the age of 62 after succumbing to an extended illness, reports Granma newspaper.

The Ukrainian diplomatic worked for her country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1983, and in 2009 was appointed as a representative to Cuba. On the island, she “helped to strengthen friendship as well as political, cultural and commercial ties between the two countries.”

According to the article, for all the years of its existence, Saienko actively participated in the Cuban medical program “Children of Chernobyl,” which has provided care for child victims of that nation’s nuclear disaster.