Ukraine's First Lady & Navalny's Widow Decline Biden's State Of The Union Invitation: White House Confirms

The White House confirmed that Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska and Yulia Navalnaya, wife of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, declined invitations to attend President Joe Biden's State of the Union (SoTU) address on Thursday.

According to reports from American media houses, the White House had intended to seat Zelenska and Navalnaya near First Lady Jill Biden.

Photo Credit: X/PTI

Ukraine's First Lady & Navalny's Widow Decline Biden invite

However, both invitations were declined. The decision by Zelenska was attributed to scheduled events, including a pre-planned visit of children from an orphanage to Kyiv, as stated by Tetiana Haiduchenko, Zelenska's press secretary.

The seating arrangement reportedly caused discomfort for some Ukrainians due to Navalny's statements regarding Crimea, wherein he suggested that Crimea, annexed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2014, belonged to Russia, despite condemning Putin's aggression, as reported by India Today.

Yulia Navalnaya opted out of attending due to the recent passing of her husband Alexei Navalny, as explained by her spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, who highlighted the circumstances surrounding Navalnaya's need for recovery and rest.

President Biden's Foreign Policy Address to Be Focused On in Speech

In the State of the Union address, Press Secretary Jean-Pierre refrained from commenting on the specific details of President Biden's foreign policy speech but reiterated the administration's call for House Republicans to support additional aid for Ukraine.

It was emphasized by the Press Secretary that the president's case for House Republicans needing to move forward would continue to be made, and the need for the national security supplemental to be put on the floor by the speaker, as per media report.

Further details on the reasons for their absence in President Joe Biden's State of the Union address were declined to be shared by the Press Secretary.