President Biden greeted Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska with a bouquet of sunflowers Tuesday to show support for her country’s fight against the nearly five-month-old Russian invasion.
The welcome by Biden wasn’t advertised to the press ahead of time. The White House told reporters that only first lady Jill Biden would greet Zelenska.
The president’s bouquet included blue hydrangeas — in a nod to the blue and yellow colors of Ukraine’s flag — as well as white orchids, according to a pool reporter.
Ukraine’s first lady, 44, is visiting Washington to liaise with US leaders about the multibillion-dollar effort to arm Kyiv’s military and financially prop up its government as it fights off Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
Biden has no public events on his Tuesday schedule, but didn’t join a subsequent meeting in the Blue Room between a delegation of Ukrainians led by Zelenska and US representatives led by Jill Biden, second gentleman Douglas Emhoff and US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
First lady Jill Biden hugs Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska while President Biden holds a bouquet of sunflowers. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
Zelenska is scheduled to speak to Congress on Wednesday. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Zelenska accepts the Dissident Human Rights Award from the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation in Washington, DC, on July 19, 2022. AP Photo/Carolyn KasterJill Biden, leading the meeting, recalled her surprise Mother’s Day visit to Ukraine, where she met with Zelenska.
“One of the things that I said when I came back was you cannot go into a war zone and come back and not feel the sorrow and pain,” the American first lady said.
Reporters were removed from the room before Zelenska spoke.
The Ukrainian first lady will address members of Congress on Wednesday on behalf of her husband, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is leading the unexpectedly stiff resistance to Russia’s attack.
First lady Jill Biden previously met Zelenska on Mother’s Day. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
President Biden smiles at Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
The press was reportedly unaware that President Biden would appear with his wife, Jill. AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
Zelenska attends a meeting with first lady Jill Biden in the Blue Room of the White House. REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstJoe Biden hasn’t yet visited Ukraine to show support during the conflict, despite Zelensky’s invitation and visits by the leaders of most other large NATO countries.
Congress overwhelmingly approved $40 billion in war funding for Ukraine in May after Ukrainian troops beat back a Russian attempt to seize the capital in a stunning defeat for Moscow.
Biden has vowed to support Zelensky’s government as long as necessary, despite growing resistance from fiscal conservatives.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 after about eight years of lower-intensity fighting between a pair of pro-Russia rebel republics in eastern Ukraine and the Kyiv government. Biden accused Putin of seeking to resurrect the Soviet Union, but the precise goal of the invasion was unclear.
