Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska visits White House
The group, which included Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova, posed for a photo at the south entrance to the White House, flanked by an American flag and a Ukrainian flag. They did not answer reporters’ shouted questions about what they would discuss.
Zelenska and Jill Biden had a private meeting, then held an expanded meeting with Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Isobel Coleman, the deputy administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); Victoria Nuland, undersecretary of state for political affairs; Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy; and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff.
On this Mother’s Day, my heart is with you, First Lady Olena Zelenska, and all of the brave and resilient mothers of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/tCMXCXhgiY
— Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) May 8, 2022
Tuesday’s White House visit was not the first meeting for Zelenska and Jill Biden. In May, over Mother’s Day weekend, Jill Biden made an unannounced visit to Ukraine and met with Zelenska in Uzhhorod, a city that lies on the border with Slovakia, as well as Ukrainian refugees.
At the start of their private meeting Tuesday, Jill Biden recalled the “sorrow and pain” of the war zone and told Zelenska her team had been working on ways to help with the mental health of Ukrainian mothers and children forced to flee their homes.
On Monday, Zelenska met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and USAID Administrator Samantha Power to “address the long-term psychosocial impacts of Russia’s war” in Ukraine, according to the White House.
Met today with Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska to discuss the immense humanitarian costs of President Putin’s war. The United States remains committed to helping the people of Ukraine defend themselves from Russia, secure justice, and rebuild their country. pic.twitter.com/r4XuTKHPP7
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) July 19, 2022
Earlier Tuesday, Zelenska visited the new Victims of Communism Museum in Washington to accept a human rights award on behalf of the people of Ukraine. In remarks at the museum, Zelenska noted that there were three photographs of Ukrainian dissidents who had been tortured or sent away for “questioning the cult of Stalin.” She compared those to some of the atrocities Ukrainians had faced in the past five months as a result of Russia’s invasion.
“Through all this suffering and pain, we send a strong warning to the war: Remember the darkest past can be easily beaten,” Zelenska said. “In certain places, the darkness has never faded away. It just figured out how to operate more advanced weaponry and use social media. And…
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