Jill Biden is using her second solo overseas trip to get an up-close look at the Ukrainian refugee crisis.
The White House says she'll spend Mother's Day meeting with displaced families in a small Slovakian village on the border with Ukraine. The first lady's office declined to say whether she would enter Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine in late February. That led millions of Ukrainians to flee to neighboring countries like Slovakia and Romania, which Biden will also visit. She opens the trip Friday at a military base on the Black Sea in Romania. She plans to help serve dinner to U.S. troops stationed there.
"The focus of this trip is to emphasize the U.S. support for the work they are doing on behalf of refugees, on behalf of supporting the Ukrainian people and she is going - I think the significance of this should not be lost - over Mother's Day to really show this support," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
The president and first lady's daughter Ashley Biden was scheduled to join the trip. The White House announced Thursday she would not attend after becoming a close contact with someone who was confirmed with COVID-19.
