Ukraine's First Lady, Olena Zelenska, declined an invitation from the White House to attend the State of the Union address on March 7. The decision was reportedly due to scheduled events, including a visit from an orphanage. Speculation arose about a potential connection to Yulia Navalnaya, a new Russian opposition leader, and concerns about being linked to Biden/Democrats.
People familiar with Kyiv’s deliberations told The Washington Post that the possibility of Mrs. Navalnaya showing up didn’t sit well with the Ukrainians even though Alexei was a symbol of Russian rebellion. https://t.co/65lpNoyFFd
“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.” https://t.co/65lpNoyFFd
Zelenska was invited to sit with first lady Jill Biden during the speech, but said no. https://t.co/65lpNoy7PF
This thread is full of bad arguments & outright misinformation re Navalny's opposition to the war. But that aside, it's not even clear Zelenska declined to attend b/c of Navalnaya. It's likely the Zelensky admin is wary of being too closely linked to Biden/Dems. https://t.co/BbsfmzDs6h
The fact that the White House wanted to pair First Lady Olena Zelenska with Yulia Navalnaya at the State of the Union (according to WP) shows that two years in, they still don’t understand Ukraine.
Zelensky's wife and Navalny's widow both REFUSED invitations to Biden's State of the Union Biden has not even reached out to the family of Laken Riley to attend This is who is running our country
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. https://t.co/CErRIZrndi
two invites (and two declines) from the bidens to this week’s state of the union: olena zelenska and yulia navalnaya https://t.co/SHW4n2V96Y
Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska was invited to attend President Biden’s State of the Union address but was unable to come, according to the White House. https://t.co/dUv67aNaem https://t.co/l4zMtsFkzx
Scoop from last night w/ @John_Hudson: Olena Zelenska, Ukraine’s first lady, declined an invitation from the White House to attend the State of the Union — in part because of concerns she would be seated near Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexei Navalny https://t.co/9CoFF2lLKt
🔴 Late Russian opposition leader seen as ‘nationalist and imperialist’ in Ukraine because of failure to condemn 2014 Crimea invasion Read more 👇 https://t.co/G9HMtNAT6M https://t.co/ra7spwVIRN
“Due to planned events in the schedule, including a visit to Kyiv by children from an orphanage, which was planned in advance, unfortunately, the first lady will not be able to take part in the event,” the Ukrainian presidential administration said. https://t.co/ELPOYzCE09
What a mess. Olena Zelenska, Ukraine’s first lady, declined an invitation to Biden’s State of the Union, reportedly in part because “Yulia Navalnaya’s potential presence caused discomfort for the Ukrainians.” And now Navalny’s widow isn’t coming, either. https://t.co/Zul000VYVK
The Washington Post reported #US First Lady Jill #Biden’s invitations to #OlenaZelenska and #YuliaNavalnaya, the widow of the Russian opposition figure, were turned down by both. https://t.co/VZ8tjBvMZU
Dr. Biden invited Zelensky’s wife to sit next to Navalny’s widow at the SOTU - she refused. What few Americans know is that Navalny supported Russia’s invasion of Crimea and Russian imperialism in general. Ukrainians hated him - perhaps enough to assassinate him. https://t.co/7VkMPVUjkz
I guess they didn’t realize Navalny’s longstanding views on Crimea wouldn’t make Ukraine terribly happy https://t.co/QTqpVS1Pet
Yulia Navalnaya is aware: not all of her followers support Ukraine. That's why she is facing own difficult decisions for creating the anti-Putin coalition from ideologically diverse forces. Kyiv would love to see her calling on Russian troops to leave the frontlines in Ukraine.
The big question now is: will Yulia Navalnaya, a new Russian opposition leader, become an ally or a competitor to Ukraine's fight against Vladimir Putin? Read my column on this to get arguments from Kyiv. Support Mission 61 blog by becoming a patron. https://t.co/wmTiAXhMRH
WP claims Zelenska declined White House's invitation because of Navalnaya, President's Office denies https://t.co/I9m8e2SxTu
If Navalnaya were to protest Russia’s war in Ukraine, witness the war crimes in Bucha committed by Russian army, or even perform one small act of solidarity like many genuine supporters of Ukraine have done, she won’t probably be “viewed with some skepticism in Ukraine”. https://t.co/qKkJFndpJk
⚡️Ukraine's First Lady Olena #Zelenska declined an invitation to attend US President Joe #Biden's address to the nation because the #WhiteHouse had planned for her to sit next to Yulia Navalny, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei #Navalny, The Washington Post reported. https://t.co/jjobhKkRQP
Curious development. Zelensky’s wife is refusing to attend Biden’s State of the Union. So’s Navalny’s wife, who was also invited and declined. What’s going on? https://t.co/ikny68ArJU
Olena Zelenska has refused to attend Biden’s state-of-the-nation address ostensibly because she would be sitting next to Yulia Navalnaya. WaPo gets CEPA’s Poliakova to explain that Ukrainians see Navalny as an imperialist, but it suggest Zelensky didn’t want to upset GOP.
WOW: Zelensky’s wife also declined. https://t.co/ZLwFsMYzxg https://t.co/ouXrRHdZIG
Elena Zelenskaya refused to attend Biden’s address to Congress: she was invited by the White House - Washihton Post. The publication writes that the reason was that they wanted to seat the wife of the Ukrainian president next to Yulia Navalnaya. https://t.co/XMZadtFVDW
The White House invited Olena Zelenska and Yulia Navalnaya to attend Joe Biden's message to Congress. Both declined the invitation This is reported by The Washington Post. The potential presence of Yulia Navalnaya, according to WP sources, "made Ukrainians uncomfortable" because… https://t.co/GrqvHdCe5K
⚡️#Ukraine's First Lady, Olena #Zelenska, declined a White House invitation to attend the State of the Union address on March 7, as reported by The Washington Post. The publication cites Ukraine's complex political problems amid the ongoing war as the reason for her decision. . https://t.co/jcm4Y4cUgb
⚡️Washington Post: Olena Zelenska declines State of the Union invitation. Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska opted not to accept an invitation from the White House to attend March 7 State of the Union address. https://t.co/NGc70TgK1S
Olena Zelenska, Ukraine’s first lady, declined an invitation from the White House to attend Thursday’s State of the Union address, forgoing one of Washington’s most dignified events and underscoring the complicated politics facing her war-torn country. https://t.co/wP6dWVD4Wx
Yulia Navalnaya was invited to attend Biden’s State of the Union address this Thursday, but she “is no longer able to attend,” says White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. https://t.co/JISht6nErl
Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska has spoken to Piers Morgan about how the war with Russia has affected her life and country.
The White House invited Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, to attend the State of Union as a guest of President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, but she is unable to attend, WH officials tell @ArletteSaenz
LIVE: Piers Morgan speaks to Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska - on Putin, Biden, Gaza and Kate Middleton 👇 @ZelenskaUA | @piersmorgan https://t.co/6C2OxBNrrn
"There needs to be punishment for every crime." Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska tells Piers Morgan her message to Vladimir Putin. Full exclusive interview now live 👉 https://t.co/UasCZ3i0iW @ZelenskaUA | @piersmorgan https://t.co/A0VV2myMeP
MONDAY: Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska sits down with Piers Morgan to discuss Putin, Biden, Gaza and more. Going live on the Uncensored YouTube channel at 5pm (UK). SUBSCRIBE: https://t.co/mxTnxUUCe8 @ZelenskaUA | @piersmorgan https://t.co/Uan9QXDNb8
"I have to say thank you to the British people, we feel your support." First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska tells @piersmorgan in a world #exclusive interview #PiersUncensored https://t.co/qj5JNBGaKj https://t.co/qj5JNBGaKj
MONDAY: Piers Morgan sits down with Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska to discuss life after two years of war and tragedy. Going live on the PMU YouTube channel tomorrow at 5pm (UK). SUBSCRIBE: https://t.co/mxTnxUUCe8 @ZelenskaUA | @piersmorgan https://t.co/VrK86g9Dea
WORLD EXCLUSIVE Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska gave one interview during her trip to Britain - to me! Our conversation about war, love, Russia, Trump, the Royals, Putin & her passionate plea to US politicians drops on @PiersUncensored YouTube channel at 5pm tomorrow. https://t.co/BIEkW5kgtn