Ukrainian first lady requests additional military aid in speech to U.S. lawmakers

published 20 July 2022

Ukrainian first lady Olea Zelenska spoke in person to members of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday.

Addressing lawmakers in Ukrainian at the Capitol Visitors Center Auditorium, Zelenska expressed her gratitude for American support "in this fight for our shared values" and requested additional military aid. She also showed pictures of children who had been killed in Russian missile attacks and described the ongoing invasion as "Russia's Hunger Games, hunting for peaceful people in peaceful cities of Ukraine."

Zelenska, born Olena Kiyashko in 1978, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met as children but did not become close until university. They married in 2003 after dating for eight years. While Volodymyr worked as an actor, Olena would write comedy sketches for his troupe to perform. Last month, she told The Guardian that their home life is characterized by "endless jokes," but while Olena sometimes "get[s] tired of this messing about," Volodymyr "never does." The couple have two children together.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

As first lady, Zelenska has addressed issues including school nutrition reform, gender equality, and the availability of Ukrainian-language audio guides at tourist sites around the world. In August 2021, she organized the first Kyiv Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, which drew representatives from Brazil, Israel, Costa Rica, Latvia, Lithuania, Serbia, Germany, Croatia, and Lebanon. Hillary Clinton, the former first lady of the United States, also attended the summit.

Explore More

Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox