Ukraine\u2019s first lady Olena Zelenska was invited to attend President Biden\u2019s State of the Union address but is unable to come, according to the White House. <\/p>\n
Zelenska was invited by the White House to sit with first lady Jill Biden on Thursday during Biden\u2019s address to Congress, but she declined. <\/p>\n
The effort to have her present comes as the president has been pushing lawmakers to pass more aid to Ukraine for its war effort, a push he is expected to make during his speech because the second anniversary of Russia\u2019s invasion into the region recently passed. <\/p>\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Washington in December to call for more aid and to urge unity in Congress against Russian aggression. <\/p>\n
The White House had also invited Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, but she was also unable to come, according to the White House. <\/p>\n
Biden\u00a0met Navalnaya\u00a0and her daughter, Dasha, in San Francisco last month shortly after Navalny died in a Russian prison on\u00a0Feb. 16. <\/p>\n
The first lady will sit at the address with Kate Cox, who sued for the right to terminate a nonviable pregnancy in Texas and later left the state to receive abortion care. <\/p>\n
Also\u00a0in attendance for the address\u00a0will be the parents of detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who were invited by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). <\/p>\n
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Ukraine first lady declines State of the Union invitation - The Hill<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ukraine\u2019s first lady Olena Zelenska was invited to attend President Biden\u2019s State of the Union address but is unable to come, according to the White House. Zelenska was invited by the White House to sit with first lady Jill Biden on Thursday during Biden\u2019s address to Congress, but she declined. The effort to have her present comes as the president has been pushing lawmakers to pass more aid to Ukraine for its war effort, a push he is expected to make during his speech because the second anniversary of Russia\u2019s invasion into the region recently passed Continue reading