Ukraine’s First Lady turns down invitation to State of the Union address

Olena Zelenska, Ukraine’s first lady, declined a White House invitation to attend President Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday, her office said, citing a scheduling conflict.

“Due to planned events, including a visit of children from an orphanage to Kiev, which was planned in advance, the first lady will unfortunately not be able to attend the event,” Tetiana Haiduchenko, Ms. Zelenska’s press secretary, said on Wednesday.

Yulia Navalnaya – the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei A. Navalny, who died in a Russian prison last month – was also invited to the speech but cannot attend, the White House said on Tuesday.

The invitation to Ms Zelenska and the fact that she was unable to attend were reported on Tuesday evening by The Washington Post.

Had both women been able to attend, their presence could have been a powerful symbol of unity against President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, at a time when Biden is pressing Republicans in Congress to pass a $60 billion military and financial aid package to approve. for Ukraine.

Facing battlefield setbacks, Ukraine has said it urgently needs U.S. military assistance to maintain its defenses.

Ms. Zelenska’s decision not to attend Mr. Biden’s speech stands in stark contrast to Kiev’s usual willingness to put representatives on the international stage to rally support for the war-torn country. She and her husband, President Volodymyr Zelensky, have traveled extensively around the world since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion two years ago, attending awards ceremonies, diplomatic meetings and presidential inaugurations.

But recent trips by Ukrainian officials to the United States have yielded few results. Mr. Zelensky left Washington empty-handed in December after meeting with Mr. Biden and members of Congress, whom he hoped to convince to unblock the $60 billion aid package.

Michael D. Shear, Anatoly Kurmanayev And Oleksandra Mykolyshyn reporting contributed.