The wife of the Ukrainian president was revealed for the first time, welcoming a surprise guest from the US

Surprise visit

President Joe Biden’s wife becomes the latest famous American to travel to Ukraine during the war while meeting Jill Biden is the first. wife of President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared in public since Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine on February 24.

“I want to come on Mother’s Day. I think it’s important to show the Ukrainian people that the fighting must stop, that the fighting is brutal and that the American people are on the side of the Ukrainian people,” US First Lady Jill Biden told First Lady Olena. Zelenska.

According to AP, the wife of President Joe Biden spent about 2 hours in Ukraine, traveling by car to the town of Uzhhorod – about a 10-minute drive from a border village of Slovakia.

Ukraine’s First Lady Zelenska thanked Jill Biden for her “brave act” and emphasized: “We understand what makes the First Lady of the United States come here when the fighting is going on every day, when the whistle blows. alarms go off every day – even today”.

The first ladies of the United States and Ukraine met at a school used to house Ukrainian evacuees. Ms. Zalenska arrived first and waited in the black SUV until Mrs. Biden arrived in the same manner. The two first ladies got out of the car and hugged, then US First Lady Jill Biden presented a bouquet of flowers before heading to school together.

Ukraine’s first lady Zelenska and her two children have been staying at an undisclosed location for safety since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

According to AP, the visit to Ukraine allows US First Lady Jill Biden to carry out the kind of personal diplomacy that President Joe Biden has wanted to do himself.

In March, during a visit to Poland, President Joe Biden expressed his disappointment at not being able to cross the border and go to Ukraine to see it with his own eyes for security reasons.

Michael LaRosa, a spokesman for the first lady of the United States, said that the meeting with the first lady of Ukraine came after Jill Biden expressed interest in visiting the region, including the school she and Mrs. Zalenska met, and decided on the idea for Mother’s Day with Ukrainian mothers.

Michael LaRosa added that the Ukrainian government has informed the US that Ms. Zalenska would like to meet, if possible, and that preparations for the meeting of the first ladies have been completed in recent days. The first ladies of the United States and Ukraine have also recently exchanged letters.

After meeting privately for about half an hour, US First Lady Jill Biden and Ukraine First Lady Olena Zelenska and a group of children living at the school made tissue bears for Mother’s Day gifts.

Following in the footsteps of US first ladies visiting war zones

First Lady Jill Biden’s surprise visit to Ukraine comes after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit and other members of Congress, as well as a joint trip by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev.

The visit of President Joe Biden’s wife to western Ukraine and Russian military activity is concentrated in eastern Ukraine.

Ms. Jill Biden is on a four-day visit to Eastern Europe to highlight US support for Ukrainian refugees and allies like Romania and Slovakia that are providing safe havens for refugees.

President Joe Biden’s wife visited Romania on May 6 and 7, visiting US troops and meeting with Ukrainian refugee mothers and children.

With this trip, first lady Jill Biden followed in the footsteps of other incumbent US first ladies to war or conflict zones.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited service members abroad during World War II to help mobilize troops. Pat Nixon traveled with President Richard Nixon to South Vietnam in 1969, becoming the first American first lady to visit a war zone, according to the National Library of First Ladies.

Hillary Clinton visited a conflict zone, stopping in Bosnia in 1996. Laura Bush visited Afghanistan twice, in 2005 and 2008, during a time when the US was leading the war in Afghanistan. Melania Trump accompanied US President Donald Trump to Iraq in December 2018.