Bidens welcome Ukraine's First Lady to White House

WASHINGTON • The first ladies of the United States and Ukraine met on Tuesday afternoon at the White House, as their husbands sought to keep the world's attention on the war ravaging Ukraine and the larger threat posed by Russian aggression.

President Joe Biden made a surprise appearance at the start of the meeting, presenting a bouquet of yellow sunflowers and blue hydrangeas to Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska.

The talks between Ms Zelenska and US First Lady Jill Biden came just over two months after their first meeting in western Ukraine, and it underscored how the war has dramatically reshaped their roles in recent months.

Mrs Biden referred to the visit in remarks before the meeting, which she said would include a discussion of mental health issues for women and children who have become refugees from the war.

"One of the things that I said when I came back," Mrs Biden said, "was you cannot go into a war zone and come back and not feel the sorrow and pain."

Ms Zelenska, 44, who once focused on issues of female empowerment, literacy and culture in Ukraine, has been using her profile to raise awareness about Russian crimes against children and older citizens.

She met her future husband, Mr Volodymyr Zelensky, when they were students at different universities in their home town of Kryvyi Rih.

She later became a scriptwriter at Kvartal 95, the production company Mr Zelensky founded before he traded comic acting for the presidency.

Ms Zelenska also addressed the US Congress yesterday, appealing to Washington to provide Ukraine with air defence systems.

She is also scheduled to meet Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

In a post on Telegram, Ms Zelenska said she was seeking help from the US government and business community for a programme to provide prosthetic limbs to Ukrainian children who stepped on land mines or were maimed in bombardments.

NYTIMES