Olena Zelenska, Ukraine’s first woman, declined a White Home invitation to attend President Biden’s State of the Union tackle on Thursday, her workplace mentioned, citing a scheduling battle.
“As a result of scheduled occasions, together with a go to of kids from an orphanage to Kyiv, which was deliberate prematurely, the primary woman will sadly not have the ability to attend the occasion,” Tetiana Haiduchenko, Ms. Zelenska’s press secretary, mentioned on Wednesday.
Yulia Navalnaya — the widow of the Russian opposition chief Alexei A. Navalny, who died in a Russian jail final month — was additionally invited to the tackle however is unable to attend, the White Home mentioned on Tuesday.
The invitation to Ms. Zelenska, and the truth that she was unable to make it, have been reported Tuesday night by The Washington Post.
The White Home hoped to have each girls on the speech as an illustration of the battle for freedom and a present of resistance to Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, in accordance with an individual accustomed to the planning for the tackle. Officers additionally believed that having each girls there can be a robust image of how excessive the stakes are to these opposing additional support to Ukraine.
Mr. Biden has been urgent Republicans in Congress to approve a $60 billion army and monetary support package deal for Ukraine, and he’s anticipated to make a giant push for continued assist in his tackle Thursday night time.
Dealing with setbacks on the battlefield, Ukraine has mentioned it urgently wants American army support to maintain up its protection.
Ms. Zelenska’s resolution to not attend Mr. Biden’s speech contrasts with Kyiv’s traditional readiness to place representatives on the worldwide scene to rally assist for the war-torn nation. She and her husband, President Volodymyr Zelensky, have traveled extensively world wide since Russia’s full-scale invasion started two years in the past, attending award ceremonies, diplomatic conferences and presidential inaugurations.
However current journeys by Ukrainian officers to the USA have yielded few outcomes. Mr. Zelensky left Washington empty-handed in December after assembly with Mr. Biden and Congress members whom he hoped to steer to unblock a $60 billion support package deal.
Anatoly Kurmanaev and Oleksandra Mykolyshyn contributed reporting.