But the blast also smashed through the window of Maria’s coffee shop across the road and sent a fridge flying towards her and the customers she was serving.

Luckily, they all escaped unharmed, but the destroyed building across the road serves as a reminder that normality is only a veneer in Ukraine.

The blonde barista showed us dramatic CCTV footage of the blast from her phone, after serving a freshly-brewed coffee to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.

Metsola was in Kyiv on Thursday, her third visit to Ukraine since the “illegal and unprovoked” Russian invasion began 806 days ago.

Her visit coincided with Europe Day (9th May) which celebrates the first efforts of European leaders to unite for peace and prosperity.

9th May also happens to be the day Russia commemorates Victory Day, the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

“(Russian president) Putin could use today to display a show of force,” one of Metsola’s officials warned us, as we got our security briefing. We were handed bulletproof vests and helmets “just in case”.

While the delegation got some rest on a military sleeper train from Poland to Kyiv, Russia reportedly continued some of its toughest air strikes on Ukraine, targeting mainly the country’s energy infrastructure.

In fact, the first place we visited in Kyiv was a power plant that was hit a few weeks back with six missiles.

It was eerie to walk through the bombed out plant. Thick black soot covered every inch of it. Equipment all over the plant was turned into debris or melted down. The roof had three gaping holes, each one larger than the other.

“It’s been completely destroyed,” one of the power plant operators tells us. “Luckily nobody was hurt because we now have a sophisticated air raid system that gives us time to flee when an attack is approaching.”

Metsola and her delegation were given a tour of the plant by Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the country’s Parliament.

His enormous stature can be intimidating. But as soon as he sees Metsola, his face explodes into a huge smile and he is suddenly a giant teddy bear who engulfs his slim counterpart with a hug.

Like most politicians in Malta, Metsola divides people.

Nationalist voters tend to love and admire her. Many hope she will focus more on national politics and contribute to the party that has been struggling electorally for the better part of two decades.

But many Labour voters see her as a traitor. Someone who airs Malta’s dirty laundry in public. A hypocrite even.

The governing Labour Party currently has her face plastered on an electoral billboard captioned: Kontra Malta (Against Malta).

This falls squarely in line with the narrative pushed by Prime Minister Robert Abela who accuses Metsola of being a warmonger, a traitor and somebody who uses her position for personal gain rather than the national interest.

But in Ukraine, Metsola is an undisputed hero – someone who has gone out of her way to recognise and alleviate the plight of the Ukrainian people. Someone who represents the ideals they are fighting for: peace, freedom, democracy and self-determination.

Besides being considered brave for visiting Ukraine only weeks after Russia’s invasion, Metsola is credited with delivering on her promises.

She was invaluable in securing a recent €50 billion financial package for the country when it needed it most. And she also put Ukraine on the path to EU membership.

In fact, in the 11 hours she was in Kyiv, Ukrainian leaders showered her with praise and honours in a jam-packed schedule.

The largest university in Ukraine gave her an honorary degree. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded her a medal of honour, the Order of Merit, First Class.

And Stefanchuk showed her the plaque they made for her on the Walk of the Brave (a Hollywood-inspired walk of fame for all those who defended Ukraine’s interests).

Metsola’s plaque is the one closest to the Parliament.

“That’s because you came here first. Everyone else came later,” joked the giant teddy bear of a man.

His jibe to “everyone else” was a much-needed light moment after the tense hour that preceded it.

 

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Journalists gathered in a large courtyard outside the official residence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a press conference.

Zelenskyy, the comedian-turned-wartime president, took the opportunity to thank Metsola for all her efforts. She responded by assuring Ukraine of Europe’s continued support.

Zelenskyy seemed jovial and somewhat hopeful about June’s peace summit in Switzerland which he hopes would bring more neutral countries to Ukraine’s diplomatic side. (He made a small dig at those countries which attended Putin’s recent electoral victory inauguration, which included a Maltese representative.)

But before the press conference could draw to an end, the skies erupted with the unmistakeable sounds of an air raid siren.

Journalists looked at each other in trepidation. Our bulletproof vest and helmets were in the van and the “just in case” moment seemed to have arrived.

Zelenskyy was visibly upset.

“This is what the Nazis do in Europe today. This is the reality of Europe Day for us Ukrainians. A Nazi parade,” Zelenskyy said.

He turns to Metsola, also visibly shaken, “Are you ok?”

“I’m alright,” she responded, by which point most of the press has stood up from their seats and everybody began to be ushered to a nearby bunker.

 

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“This happens almost every day. Sometimes several times a day. We don’t know how long the threat will last. Sometimes it’s a few minutes, sometimes it’s a few hours,” a Ukrainian journalist tells us.

Inside the bunker, Metsola is shown an app on an iPad that warns the public of incoming threats.

“The alarm goes off whenever a threat is detected. Sometimes it’s just an intelligence drone and it gets shot down pretty quickly. Other times it’s a missile, which could reach downtown Kyiv in five minutes. So these precautions must be taken,” the Ukrainians explain to her.

With no time to waste, Metsola and Stefanchuk sit down to have their scheduled bilateral meeting inside the bunker instead of his office.

“This shows the real situation you are living in,” Metsola said.

“I hope you continue to work for Ukraine, and keep your position,” Stefanchuk retorted, describing Metsola as “a great friend of Ukraine” who was “behind all the most important decisions to support Ukraine”.

 

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The admiration is mutual. Metsola is inspired by the bravery shown by Ukraine throughout this war and said that when she first visited and saw the Parliament in action despite the bombs that were falling she knew “light would always triumph over darkness”.

As news and videos of the press conference interruption went live, many online commentators claimed the air raid was staged.

Asked about this, Metsola stressed that this was a “real war” where over three million citizens had their homes destroyed, millions have fled the country as refugees and countless families have lost soldiers on the frontlines.

“This is why it is important to have journalists here with us today, to counter the narrative that is intent on spreading falsehoods.”

Days before our visit, Russia attacked a city closest to the Polish border, and a Polish judge defected to Russia, prompting fears of interference at the highest echelons of Polish society. The Poles are among the most worried that if Ukraine falls, they will be next.

After about an hour, we were permitted to leave the shelter and we visited a University where Metsola conducted a Q&A with students.

They asked her about her experience as a politician, a woman leader, and a believer in the European project. They asked her about corruption in the European Parliament, her advice on how they too can become European leaders and how their country can join the EU.

Here Metsola, a mother of four young children, was in her element.

She said the toughest day of her mandate was the corruption scandal that rocked the Parliament.

“A number of individuals are still under process and so the presumption of innocence stands. But I had two choices that day, either to say corruption is everywhere and do nothing, or to ensure that where there are gaps, I fill them, where there were alarm bells we should have heard, we hear them, and if there are firewalls we can build, we build them.”

She said the next Parliament will be a “completely new one” thanks to 14 “unprecedented” reforms that were introduced after nine months of hard work to convince all the different parties and member states.

“I don’t point fingers. I find majorities and if I can find majorities on actions MEPs can be proud of, I do,” she said.

“I cannot tell you that it won’t happen again but at least now the alarm bells will be heard and the firewalls are built.”

She extended the time to take more questions from students and she promised them that their future was bright.

“I first contested in 2004 and was only elected in 2013. My message is simple: Never give up,” she said, urging them all to seek internships in the European institutions to understand what it means to spend every day adopting decisions that affect millions of people.

Metsola’s last appointment of the day was a meeting with the Children’s Commissioner, where she met some Ukrainian children who had been returned from Russia in recent months. There are still around 19,000 Ukrainian children in Russia or Russian-controlled Ukrainian territories, but efforts are being made to return them.

After her 14th appointment in 11 hours, Metsola began her journey back to Malta, where she will spend the next month campaigning for re-election at the 8th June European Parliament elections.

If she has a strong showing and the European People’s Party secures a majority in Parliament, it’s likely that Stefanchuk will get his way since Metsola could secure a second term as EP President.

Despite being the front-runner in Malta’s polls – even 4% of Labour voters say they will vote for her making her their second top choice – she is not taking her re-election for granted. The Russian war on Ukraine has taught her an important lesson. Normality in Europe can disappear in the blink of an eye.

“That is what is at stake at this election,” she tells journalists huddled in the small cabin of the sleeper train that would take us back to Poland.

As she speaks about the plight of the Ukrainians, I cannot help but think about the even more horrific existence Palestinians are facing in Gaza.

In the fringes of her busy schedule, I got 10 minutes to question Metsola one on one. I asked her about Gaza.

“This mandate has been dominated not by one crisis but by many: the pandemic, the economic recovery, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and since 7th October, the atrocities that took place… and the overwhelmingly disproportionate response we’ve seen since then by Israel in Gaza.”

It was nice to hear a clear condemnation of Israel, even though it stopped short of the word genocide.

Is she planning a visit to Gaza?

“I have been to the West Bank multiple times. I will continue to do so and I am in constant contact with the Palestinian authorities to see how we can help.”

The European Parliament called for a permanent ceasefire many months ago together with the release of hostages, she points out.

“The situation on the ground is catastrophic. We are helping people to get out. We are helping people to be given protection. But at the same time we need to recognise that our aim of pushing for a two-state solution – even in the fog of war – should not lose our sights.”

And what about the protests being suppressed worldwide?

“I grew up protesting. In my university days I spent more time protesting than studying,” she says. (In fact, her first date with her husband was at a protest in Helsinki against the Belarussian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko.)

“Protesting – as we are also seeing now in Malta students protesting outside our law courts against the despicable action of our Prime Minister – is something I will always protect, respect and fight for.”

Her pivot to the absurd situation in Malta was clever. But as we spoke, students demanding an end to the war in Gaza were beaten up by police with batons at the University of Amsterdam.

Amsterdam police bulldozed barricades and detained almost 170 people. Another crisis is brewing in Europe.

But Malta is burning too. As our plane took off from Poland, deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne resigned and withdrew his nomination as EU Commissioner which means Prime Minister Robert Abela’s Cabinet needs yet another shakeup. Meanwhile, his predecessor Joseph Muscat will be arraigned in court charged with serious criminal charges of bribery and money laundering a week before the European elections.

“This is a time which is very difficult for our country. A time where perhaps many people will sit back and say ‘I told you so’. A time when people are going to feel vindicated. I don’t feel vindicated, I feel sad. I feel bad that our country has come to this but also that we question the institutions.”

“The judiciary has to be allowed to do its job. If the leader of a country calls the judiciary, or a member of the judiciary, a terrorist, I think we have a problem,” she says about Abela’s condemnation of the magistrate who investigated the fraudulent hospital deal and recommended charges.

“When you’re Prime Minister you need to be a leader and you need to take difficult decisions, ones that are perhaps unpopular but are necessary.”

“I think they need people who they trust, who they know will take difficult decisions. And no matter who you are, you are not above the law. You are accountable especially if there are serious criminal charges filed against you.”

“For many years now, this has been a debate about where our country is going. But I look froward towards a new young generation who will vote for the first time on the 8th June, who will choose change, who will choose clean politics, who will choose politics as a force for good. That is what I do everyday as I work as an MEP, as President, and as a proud Maltese citizen, because I believe we are better than this.”

Dressed down in a white hoodie and offering a tot of whiskey to the exhausted delegation, Metsola remained the most energetic person in the room, despite having given countless speeches, interviews, bilateral meetings and press conferences.

The rest of us could not last a day in her shoes.

So what is her trick? A glimpse of her strategy emerged in her earlier conversation with students.

“No matter how difficult a day is, tomorrow might be easier. I divide my life in days, sometimes in hours, and when it’s really difficult I said this will pass. At the end of the day, I tell myself I’ve done my best and if something has not come out right or will need a change of direction tomorrow, I know tomorrow I can wake up and it’s a new day.”

“The second most important thing is to have a good team. Nobody can be in a position of leadership alone. You have to trust your team and delegate. I would rather trust and regret than the opposite.”

No matter how many times we asked about her local political aspirations, Metsola refused to speculate.

“I’m a candidate. I start from zero. I have worked for the past 11 years as member of the European Parliament for Malta and Gozo. It has been the privilege of a lifetime and now citizens can make their choice as to what direction they want for Europe and for Malta in the next five years.”

I guess she’ll keep us guessing.

My gut feeling is that her job in Europe is not yet done.

Christian Peregin is the founder of Lovin Malta, but today holds no active role or shareholding in the company. He was invited by Lovin Malta to provide special coverage of Metsola’s visit to Ukraine.

Photo credits: Rene Rossignaud