Zelenska refuses to take part in Biden's speech, unwilling to sit next to Navalna – WP

The First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, refused to attend U.S. President Joe Biden's address On The State Of Affairs In The Country due to the presence of Yulia Navalna, the widow of recently deceased russian opposition politician Oleksii Navalna. The event will take place on Thursday, March 7.

This was reported by the American publication The Washington Post with reference to its sources.

Several US officials familiar with the matter said the White House had planned to seat Zelenska, Navalna, and US First Lady Jill Biden together.

The Biden administration believed that the image of Zelenska and Navalna, each of whom is a symbol of resistance to russian dictator Vladimir Putin, would help create a powerful background for the U.S. President's speech.

Interlocutors of the publication said that the potential presence of Navalna allegedly caused discomfort among the representatives of Ukraine.

The publication draws attention to the fact that the deceased Navalna was widely known as an "anti-corruption icon" of russia, but in Ukraine, his past is overshadowed by statements that Crimea belongs to russia.

Despite the fact that later Navalny's views were transformed to support Ukraine's internationally recognized borders of 1991, many Ukrainians consider him to be incompatible with Kyiv's goals.

An official representative of the White House said in a comment to the newspaper that Zelenska's decision was probably related to conflicts in the first lady's schedule.

It is noted that Navalna also refused to attend Biden's speech. Her representatives argue that this is her fatigue due to the events that took place earlier.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on February 16, the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSVP) of russia announced the death of politician Oleksii Navalny. He died in the execution colony "Polar Wolf" on the territory of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District of the russian federation.

In russia, they said that Navalny's death was due to the rupture of a blood clot. At the same time, the opposition team stated that this was not the case and that the russian authorities were allegedly lying about the causes of Navalny's death.

It will be recalled that on February 25, the head of the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, stated that Navalny's death really occurred due to the rupture of a blood clot.