Why Ukraine’s first lady turned down the White House

Olena Zelenska, Ukraine’s first lady, and Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader, Alexey Navalny, were both invited to attend President Biden’s State of the Union address today. The plan was to seat them next to First Lady Jill Biden, each as a “symbol of resistance” to Putin, according to The Washington Post. Both declined. Zelenska’s office said the trip would have clashed with scheduled events, including a visit to Kyiv with children from an orphanage. But other reasons run deeper: Ukrainians remember Navalny’s statements in 2014 suggesting that Crimea belonged to Russia, as well as his appeal to the West to finance his foundation’s activity instead of giving weapons to Ukraine. He revised his views later, saying Ukraine should exist within the borders recognised in 1991. It was also reported that Zelensky is trying to avoid further politicisation of the war effort, for which Joe Biden is his main advocate. Navalnaya’s spokesperson said she declined due to fatigue.