Report: Zelensky’s Wife Snubs Biden Invite to State of the Union

The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska declined an invitation from the White House to attend President Joe Biden’s State of the Union (SOTU) address.

The alleged snub was somewhat unusual given the prestige of a choice SOTU seat and Ukraine’s fervent desire to remain in the good graces of the United States, the most pivotal supporter of Kyiv’s struggle against the Russian invasion. The White House reportedly offered to seat Zelenska next to U.S. first lady Jill Biden.

According to the Washington Post, Zelenska turned down the invitation because Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Russian dissident leader Alexei Navalny, was also invited to sit with Mrs. Biden during the speech.

The White House wanted the symbolism of Zelenska and Navalnaya sitting together while President Biden spoke, but the Ukrainian government was reportedly uncomfortable with the arrangement because Alexei Navalny was somewhat equivocal about Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Navalny, who died at the age of 47 under suspicious circumstances in an Arctic penal colony in February, was an outspoken Russian nationalist early in his political career. He supported Russia’s 2018 invasion of Georgia, for example. (Read more from “Report: Zelensky’s Wife Snubs Biden Invite to State of the Union” HERE)

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