Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska on high-profile U.S. trip

Ukraine’s first lady has arrived in Washington for her highest-profile event since Russian troops invaded her country five months ago

Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday as she began a series of high-profile appearances in Washington that will include a session with U.S. counterpart Jill Biden.

Blue and yellow Ukrainian flags flew alongside American ones on Pennsylvania Avenue as Ms. Zelenska headed for her first announced event in the United States, the meeting with Mr. Blinken.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said the Secretary of State assured Ms. Zelenska of the United States' commitment to Ukraine. Mr. Blinken also commended her for her work with civilians dealing with trauma and other damage from the war.

The State Department announced and then canceled a planned brief appearance by Mr. Blinken and Ms. Zelenska before photographers there. The low-key arrival reflects that Ms. Zelenska is not traveling as an official representative of the government of her husband, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Ms. Zelenska studied architecture in college but worked as a comedy scriptwriter, including for Mr. Zelensky, who was a comedian with a popular television show before winning the presidency in 2019.

During the war, Mr. Zelensky has won admiration from Ukrainians and Ukraine's supporters abroad by staying put in the capital, Kyiv, after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his attack on Ukraine in February.

Ms. Zelenska largely disappeared with the couple's two children during the first months after the invasion. In an interview with Time magazine this month, she described the war forcing her to shelter away from Mr. Zelensky for security reasons from the first hours of Russia's bombing. Their children, like other Ukrainians, largely have seen Mr. Zelensky since then in nightly video addresses he makes to the country.