U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson has called on Ukraine to fire its ambassador to Washington as a feud between Republicans and Volodymyr Zelensky escalates.
Johnson’s intervention came after President Zelensky visited an arms factory with several top Democrats in Scranton, Pennsylvania, President Joe Biden’s hometown in a key swing state.
The top Republican said in an open letter that the visit was “intended to help Democrats” and claimed it amounted to “election interference.”
The row is likely to overshadow Zelensky’s meeting with President Joe Biden on Thursday, where he will present a plan for “victory” in the war with Russia.
Since arriving in the United States on Sunday, Zelensky has stepped up efforts to persuade the United States and other allies to provide more support to Ukraine to fend off Russia’s offensive.
On Thursday, Biden announced that the United States would provide $7.9bn (£5.9bn) worth of military aid to Ukraine, leading to a surge in aid as his term as president draws to a close.
The aid is part of a $61 billion package passed by Congress in April that includes additional Patriot air defense missiles and long-range munitions.
The weapons package will be approved through Presidential Drawdown Authority and will be drawn from the Pentagon’s existing supply to deliver weapons faster.
Congressional Republicans blocked the Biden administration’s $61 billion military plan for months earlier this year, but eventually relented and passed the bill in April. Previously, arms supplies to Ukraine had dried up for months.
The United States has been Ukraine’s largest foreign donor, providing $56 billion to Ukraine’s defense so far.
In a statement ahead of a visit to the White House, Zelensky outlined three elements of his victory plan: further weapons donations, diplomatic efforts to force Russia to agree to peace and holding Moscow accountable for a full-scale invasion in 2022.
Zelensky had planned to offer his advice to two presidential candidates, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
However, an official from Donald Trump’s campaign said the Republican candidate will not meet with the Ukrainian leader during a trip to the United States this week.
Trump and Zelensky have long had a tense relationship. In 2019, Trump was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives on charges that he pressured Ukraine’s leaders to dig up damaging information about political opponents.
He often echoed Russian talking points about the war. At a campaign event on Wednesday, he derided Zelensky as “the greatest salesman on earth” and accused the Ukrainian leader of refusing to “make a deal” with Moscow.
At a rally earlier on Tuesday, Trump also praised Russia’s military capabilities, saying: “They defeated Hitler, they defeated Napoleon – that’s what they did, they fought.”
The former president’s comments come amid a growing feud between Zelensky and Republicans over his visit to an ammunition factory in Scranton, Biden’s home state of Pennsylvania, a key swing state.
During the visit, Zelensky appeared alongside Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and several other top Democrats. Speaker Johnson accused the president of engaging in a “partisan campaign” aimed at running Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.
Meanwhile, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee has announced it will investigate whether Zelensky’s trip was an attempt to use foreign leaders to benefit Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.
Congressional Republicans blocked the Biden administration’s $61 billion military plan for months earlier this year, but eventually relented and passed the bill in April.
Previously, arms supplies to Ukraine had dried up for months.
The United States has been Ukraine’s largest foreign donor, providing $56 billion to Ukraine’s defense so far.
