Ukraine's First Lady Declines Invitation to State of the Union Address

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Facts

  • Ukrainian first Lady Olena Zelenska has declined an invitation from the White House to attend this year's State of the Union address.1
  • 'Due to events added to the schedule earlier, including a visit to Kyiv by orphans, unfortunately, the first lady will not be able to attend,' a statement from the Ukrainian president's office said.2
  • However, according to the Washington Post, other factors were at play, namely, that Zelenska would have been seated close to Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny. Though Navalny — who died last month in an Arctic prison — opposed Russia's 2022 invasion, he previously made comments which supported Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.3
  • Also cited by the Washington Post was that, while Republicans continued to block a $60B aid package for Ukraine, Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy didn't want to appear too close to US Pres. Joe Biden. Ukraine has reportedly been lobbying Republicans in an effort to get them to drop their resistance to the bill.3
  • A spokeswoman for Navalnaya, who has also reportedly declined to attend, has said that while she was grateful for the invitation, she has continually had to travel since her husband's passing and needs time to rest.3

Sources: 1POLITICO, 2Ukrainska Pravda and 3Washington Post.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Ukrainska Pravda. Despite underlying suggestions in the Washington Post's reporting, first lady Olena Zelenska will not be attending the State of the Union address because of scheduling conflicts, including a pre-planned visit to an orphanage in Kyiv. Solidarity and diplomacy between Ukraine and America is as strong as ever.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Washington Post. Sources with knowledge of the planning said the declined invitation came because Zelenska didn't want to be seated near Yulia Navalnaya. Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy also didn't want to appear too close to US Pres. Biden at a time when he's dependant on Republicans to approve further aid. This awkward public mishap underlines ongoing pressures in the relationship between Ukraine and the US.

Predictions