Camilla's tears for Ukraine: Duchess of Cornwall makes 'substantial' donation to Mail's appeal after emotional visit to London church

Camilla's tears for Ukraine: Duchess of Cornwall makes 'substantial' donation to Mail's appeal after emotional visit to London church Camilla visited Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in London on the day Vladimir Putin was accused of genocide Was in tears speaking to representatives of the UK's 70,000-strong community about the humanitarian crisis The duchess has now made a private contribution to the Mail's record-breaking refugee appeal By REBECCA ENGLISH and SAM GREENHILL and JASON GROVES FOR THE DAILY MAIL PUBLISHED: 22:18 GMT, 2 March 2022 | UPDATED: 07:51 GMT, 3 March 2022 e-mail 456 shares 1.2k View comments ADVERTISEMENT The Duchess of Cornwall gave a 'substantial' donation to the Mail's refugee appeal last night after an emotional meeting with British-based Ukrainians. On the day Vladimir Putin was accused of genocide, Camilla visited the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in London and told the wife of the country's ambassador: 'We are praying for you.' She was in tears for much of the time speaking to representatives of the UK's 70,000-strong UKrainian community about the humanitarian crisis unfolding in their home country. The duchess has now made a private contribution to the Mail's record-breaking refugee appeal, with the total raised now in excess of £2.5million just four days after the campaign launched. Her spokesman said last night: 'No one could fail to be moved by the appalling scenes of Ukrainians fleeing their homes and the duchess wanted to help in whatever way she could.' The appeal is the fastest newspaper fundraiser of all time. The Duchess of Cornwall gave a 'substantial' donation to the Mail's refugee appeal last night after an emotional meeting with British-based Ukrainians +9 View gallery The Duchess of Cornwall gave a 'substantial' donation to the Mail's refugee appeal last night after an emotional meeting with British-based Ukrainians On the day Vladimir Putin was accused of genocide, Camilla visited the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in London and told the wife of the country's ambassador: 'We are praying for you' +9 View gallery On the day Vladimir Putin was accused of genocide, Camilla visited the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in London and told the wife of the country's ambassador: 'We are praying for you' Camilla was accompanied on her visit yesterday by her husband Prince Charles, who paid tribute to the 'extraordinary bravery and fortitude' of the Ukrainian people in the face of 'such truly terrible aggression'. The Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and MailOnline UKRAINE REFUGEE APPEAL Readers of Mail Newspapers and MailOnline have always shown immense generosity at times of crisis. Calling upon that human spirit, we are now launching an appeal to raise money for refugees from Ukraine. For, surely, no one can fail to be moved by the heartbreaking images and stories of families – mostly women, children, the infirm and elderly – fleeing from Russia's invading armed forces. As this tally of misery increases over the coming days and months, these innocent victims of a tyrant will require accommodation, schools and medical support. All donations to the Mail Ukraine Appeal will be distributed to charities and aid organisations providing such essential services. In the name of charity and compassion, we urge all our readers to give swiftly and generously. TO MAKE A DONATION ONLINE Via bank transfer, please use these details: Account name: Mail Force Charity Account number: 48867365 Sort code: 60-00-01 TO MAKE A DONATION VIA CHEQUE Make your cheque payable to 'Mail Force' and post it to: Mail Newspapers Ukraine Appeal, GFM, 42 Phoenix Court, Hawkins Road, Colchester, Essex CO2 8JY TO MAKE A DONATION FROM THE US US readers can donate to the appeal via a bank transfer to Associated Newspapers or by sending checks to dailymail.com HQ at 51 Astor Place (9th floor), New York, NY 10003 ADVERTISEMENT It is understood that he has made personal donations to two charities he is patron of, the British Red Cross and World Jewish Relief. Putin was accused of 'a full-scale genocide' after he unleashed a blitz of missile and rocket attacks on cities across Ukraine yesterday. In the conflict's bloodiest 24 hours so far, thousands of civilians were feared to have been killed with alleged war crimes happening 'almost hourly'. Residents endured relentless attacks on their neighbourhoods with some regions suffering 14 hours of non-stop bombardment and 'colossal destruction'. At an emergency session of the UN general assembly, Ukraine's ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said of the Russian invasion: 'They have come to deprive Ukraine of the very right to exist. It's already clear that the goal of Russia is not an occupation only. It is genocide.' The assembly voted overwhelmingly to approve a resolution calling for the withdrawal of all occupying forces, with 141 in favour and just five against. In other developments: Roman Abramovich announced he was selling Chelsea Football Club, saying that 'net proceeds' would go to a charitable foundation to support 'all victims of the war in Ukraine'; Boris Johnson said ministers were working to publish a 'full list of all those associated' with the Putin regime, many of whom are likely to face UK sanctions; Downing Street warned legal firms they could face penalties if they frustrated efforts to sanction Putin cronies; The Mail Force charity is back in operation, meaning readers who want to use Gift Aid can now swell their appeal donations by 25p for every £1 they give; Author Barbara Taylor Bradford issued a powerful warning about 'monstrous tyrant' Putin as she donated £20,000 to our appeal. There were reports of a Russian rocket strike near Kyiv's central rail station where thousands of women and children were being evacuated; A 'full-scale genocide of the Ukrainian people' was feared to be underway in the southern port of Mariupol with hundreds of people feared dead; Russia claimed to have seized control of its first major city so far, Kherson, though this was strongly disputed; The northern city of Kharkiv suffered an intense bombardment, likened by a Ukrainian official to the siege of Stalingrad in 1942-43; At least 2,000 civilians were estimated to have died so far; Top US diplomat Antony Blinken called Putin's 'provocative' nuclear rhetoric 'the height of irresponsibility'; Defence Secretary Ben Wallace again ruled out the idea of Nato enforcing a no-fly zone over Ukraine, suggesting it could be counter-productive; Questions mounted about the appetite of ordinary Russian soldiers for the conflict as some troops allegedly fled their posts, while the Russian ministry of defence admitted at least 498 had been killed Mr Johnson yesterday told MPs: 'What we have seen already from Vladimir Putin's regime in the use of the munitions that they have already been dropping on innocent civilians, in my view, already fully qualifies as a wa