Mar 1, 2022 - Politics & Policy

Ukrainian ambassador among Jill Biden's SOTU guests

Dorian Geiger

Capitol police officers stand guard near the U.S. Capitol on March 01, 2022. — Capitol police officers stand guard near the U.S. Capitol on March 1 in Washington, D.C. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S., will be one of first lady Jill Biden's guests at the State of the Union address on Tuesday, the White House announced.

Driving the news: The first lady's guests were chosen "because they represent policies or themes to be addressed by the President in his speech," according to a statement.

President Biden is expected to underscore the preparedness of the U.S. and NATO's response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's "premeditated and unprovoked" invasion of Ukraine in his first State of the Union address.
Moscow's bombing campaign on Ukrainian cities intensified on Tuesday. An airstrike targeting a TV tower killed at least five civilians at a nearby Holocaust memorial.

Of note: Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen will also be in attendance Tuesday night.

Haugen testified before the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection on how misinformation proliferating on the social platform undermines democracy.

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Ukrainian ambassador among Jill Biden's SOTU guests

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