Olena Zelenska, Ukraine’s First Lady, declined a White House invitation to attend President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, her office said, citing a scheduling conflict.

“Due to scheduled events, including a visit of children from an orphanage to Kyiv, which was planned in advance, the First Lady will unfortunately not be able to attend the event,” Tetiana Haiduchenko, Zelenska’s press secretary, said on Wednesday.

Yulia Navalnaya — the widow of Russian Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in a Russian prison last month — was also invited to the address but is unable to attend, the White House said on Tuesday. The invitation to Zelenska, and the fact that she was unable to make it, were reported on Tuesday evening by The Washington Post.

The White House was hoping to have both women at the speech as a demonstration of the fight for freedom and a show of resistance to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, according to a person familiar with the planning for the address. Officials also believed that having both women there would be a powerful symbol of how high the stakes are to those opposing aid to Ukraine.

New York Times News Service