U.S. Tries and Fails to Seat Ukraine’s First Lady Near Navalny’s Widow at SOTU

An attempt by the Biden administration to have Ukraine’s first lady sit near the widow of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny for a show of unity at Thursday’s State of the Union address has failed miserably.

After The Washington Post reported late Tuesday that the idea of Olena Zelenska sitting near Yulia Navalnaya caused “discomfort” for Kyiv, the Ukrainian presidential administration on Wednesday said Zelenska simply had prior commitments.

“Due to planned events in the schedule, including a visit to Kyiv by children from an orphanage, which was planned in advance, unfortunately, the first lady will not be able to take part in the event,” the administration was quoted as telling the BBC’s Ukrainian service.

Read more at The Daily Beast.