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Washington (AP) — Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday and began a series of high-profile appearances in Washington, including a session with Jill Biden of the United States.
When Zelenska headed for a meeting with Brinken, the first event announced in the United States, the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag flew alongside the American flag on Pennsylvania Avenue.
State Department spokesman Edward Price said the Secretary of State guaranteed Zelenska the United States’ commitment to Ukraine. Blinken also praised her work with civilians to deal with war trauma and other damage.
The State Department has announced and canceled a short appearance that Blinken and Zelenska had planned in front of the photographer. The modest arrival reflects that Zelenska has not traveled as the official representative of the government of her husband, President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelenska studied architecture at university, but worked as a comedy screenwriter, including Zelensky, a popular television comedian before taking office in 2019.
During the war, Russian President Vladimir Putin Attack on Ukraine i n February.
Zelenska almost disappeared with the couple’s two children during the first few months after the invasion. In her interview with Time magazine this month, she described her war, which forced her to evacuate Zelensky for her safety reasons from the first hours of the Russian bombing. .. Their children, like other Ukrainians, have since seen Zelensky at the nightly video address he makes to the country.
Zelenska from May 8th Say hello to Jill Biden, who was visiting western Ukraine without notice.
Later, the two first women met at school, where they hugged, talked, and joined an elementary school student making a tissue paper bear as a gift for Mother’s Day.
Zelenska has gained a higher profile since the conference. This includes increasing newspaper interviews about her project during the Ukrainian struggle and conflict. She has now promoted counseling for millions of Ukrainians dealing with grief and trauma.
She meets Jill Biden on Tuesday and speaks to lawmakers in the Parliamentary Auditorium on Wednesday. Her husband received great applause from members of Congress early in the war at a video address to members of the same auditorium.
Ukrainian officials did not immediately answer questions about the schedule of her visit on Monday.
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Associated Press writer Hanna Arhirova contributed from Kyiv. Matthew Lee contributed from Washington.
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