Ukraine’s First Lady declines invitation to Biden’s State of the Union address

WASHINGTON – Ms Olena Zelenska, Ukraine’s First Lady, declined a White House invitation to attend United States President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on March 7, her office said, citing a scheduling conflict.

“Due to scheduled events, including a visit of children from an orphanage to Kyiv, which was planned in advance, the First Lady will, unfortunately, not be able to attend the event,” Ms Tetiana Haiduchenko, Ms Zelenska’s press secretary, said on March 6.

Ms Yulia Navalnaya – the widow of Russian opposition leader

Alexei

Navalny

, who died in a Russian prison

in February – was also invited to the address but unable to attend, the White House said on March 5.

The invitation to Ms Zelenska and the fact that she was unable to make it were reported on March 5 evening by The Washington Post.

The White House was hoping to have both women at the speech as a demonstration of the fight for freedom and a show of resistance to Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a person familiar with the planning for the address.

Officials also believed that having both women there would be a powerful symbol of how high the stakes are to those opposing further aid to Ukraine.

Mr Biden has been pressing Republicans in Congress to approve a US$60 billion (S$80.3 billion) military and financial aid package for Ukraine, and he is expected to make a big push for continued support in his address on the night of March 7.

Facing setbacks on the battlefield, Ukraine has said

it urgently needs US military aid

to keep up its defence.

Ms Zelenska’s decision not to attend Mr Biden’s speech contrasts with Kyiv’s usual readiness to put representatives on the international scene to rally support for the war-torn nation.

She and her husband, President Volodymyr Zelensky, have travelled extensively around the world since Russia’s full-scale invasion began two years ago, attending award ceremonies, diplomatic meetings and presidential inaugurations.

But recent trips by Ukrainian officials to the US have yielded few results.

Mr Zelensky left Washington empty-handed

in December after meeting Mr Biden and Congress members whom he hoped to persuade to unblock the US$60 billion aid package. NYTIMES