Taking spotlight, Ukraine first lady pleads for more US arms

WASHINGTON (AP) – Ukraine’s first lady has emerged from her seclusion at the start of Russia’s invasion to lay the bloody images of the war’s child victims directly before U.S. lawmakers.

Olena Zelenska on Wednesday appealed at the Capitol for more U.S. air-defense systems to block the Russian missiles leveling Ukraine’s cities.

She spoke as a screen overhead showed the blood-stained strollers and crumpled bodies left by Russian missiles.

Zelenska is the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Her visit to Washington this week – meeting with counterpart Jill Biden and others – marks one of her highest-profile events since Russia invaded last February.