Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska. Photo : Collected
Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska will not attend US President Joe Biden's State of the Union address to the Congress on March 7 allegedly due to the potential presence of Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of deceased Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, The Washington Post reported.
Rumors about Navalnaya's forthcoming participation in the event have reportedly "caused discomfort" for Kiev due to a number of her husband's statements noting historic links between Crimea and Russia, despite Navalny in general condemning Moscow's actions in 2014.
Meanwhile, a White House official was cited by the newspaper as saying that Zelenska's refusal to attend Biden's address was possibly caused by "schedule conflicts."
Navalnaya has also refused to attend Biden's address because of fatigue, the newspaper reported, citing her spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh.
"Yulia was indeed invited and considered going, but I think everyone forgets the circumstances against which the events unfolded," Yarmysh was quoted as saying by The Washington Post.
On February 16, Russia's penitentiary service said Navalny had died in prison, adding that the cause of death was being investigated.
In January 2021, Navalny was arrested in Moscow upon arrival from Germany, where he had been receiving medical treatment for alleged poisoning in Russia. In February of that year, a court revoked his suspended sentence in the 2014 Yves Rocher fraud case for multiple probation violations and sentenced him to two and a half years in prison.
In August 2023, Navalny was sentenced to 19 years in prison on extremism charges. At the time, 47-year-old Navalny was already serving several sentences for fraud, embezzlement, contempt of court, and violation of probation. He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
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