Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson has released a letter to President Vladimir Zelensky demanding the expulsion of the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States.
There are less than two months left before the US presidential election. Current President Joe Biden has announced a sharp increase in security assistance for Ukraine, pledging nearly $8 billion for weapons in the coming months. At the same time, a scandal around Ukraine broke out in the States, initiated by representatives of the US Republican Party.
Republican ultimatums
US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson issued a letter Wednesday to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky with ultimatum demands.
The document, dated September 25, is written in a tone atypical for interstate correspondence. “Dear President Zelensky, I demand that you immediately fire the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova,” the document began.
Johnson cited an episode of the Ukrainian President’s visit to the United States as the motive for his ultimatum – his visit to a shell production facility in Pennsylvania.
“Ambassador Markarova organized an event where you visited an American manufacturing facility in a key state, led by a top ally of Kamala Harris. (The event) did not have a single Republican present because – intentionally – no Republicans were invited there. This trip was clearly a partisan event designed to help Democrats, and certainly an interference (by the Ukrainian side) in the electoral process,” Mike Johnson said in the letter.
The speaker emphasized that from now on, “Republicans have lost confidence in Ambassador Markarova’s ability to faithfully and effectively perform diplomatic duties in the United States,” and repeated his request to Zelensky that the Ukrainian ambassador “must to be immediately removed from office.”
Johnson also noted that this was not his only complaint about Ukraine, and was angry that “candidates at the head of the Republican Party’s presidential ticket are being targeted in the media by officials of your (Ukrainian) government.” He did not specify what he was talking about, but it can be assumed that this episode had to do with one of the many unacceptable statements of the US vice-presidential candidate JD Vance, who advocated the end of support military for Ukraine and organizing the occupation of part of our territory. . At the end of the letter, Johnson emphasized that he expects immediate action from President Zelensky.
Congressional investigation
Republicans in the US Congress have even launched an investigation into Zelensky’s visit to an ammunition plant in Pennsylvania.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer
recalled how, in 2019, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives removed former President Donald Trump based on his attempt to use a foreign leader, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, to benefit his presidential campaign.
The Biden-Harris administration recently flew the same foreign leader, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on a US taxpayer-funded flight to Pennsylvania, a battleground in the upcoming 2024 presidential election that has been called “the toughest battleground for the vice president to win.” -President Kamala Harris,” the committee chairman wrote.
He said the committee sought to determine whether the Biden-Harris administration tried to use Zelensky to help Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign, and if so, whether there was any abuse of power.
“The Committee seeks to understand the circumstances that prompted—and any facts that might justify—the Biden-Harris Administration to transport President Zelensky on an Air Force Department aircraft to Pennsylvania,” said letter
Comer also noted that Zelensky’s itinerary included a stop in Pennsylvania for a meeting with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who “until recently was considered a promising candidate to boost Democrats’ hopes of retaining control of White House.”
It is worth noting that the meeting with Shapiro had the official purpose of signing an agreement on assistance to the Zaporozhye region from Pennsylvania.
Trump is distancing himself
Donald Trump will not meet with Zelensky, who is visiting the United States.
Earlier, presidential press secretary Sergei Nikiforov said that during his visit to the United States, Zelensky plans to introduce his “success plan” to current President Joe Biden and candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
Trump himself, in a speech in North Carolina this week, launched into a several-minute tirade about Ukraine, which has “been wiped off the face of the earth,” where “millions and millions of people” have died, and all cities with buildings with “golden towers,” except Kyiv, were destroyed .
“There is no Ukraine This is no longer Ukraine,” Trump said, while criticizing the Joe Biden administration for its alleged intention to send “American children” to Ukraine to fight and “die in another country.”
And in addition, Trump personally criticized Vladimir Zelensky – on the one hand, he called him a “zealous person” who “doesn’t know what to do,” but at the same time, “the best salesman of all time ,” bringing home “billions of dollars” after each visit to the United States.
“Even if they (Ukraine) make a bad deal, it will be better than what they have now… And we continue to give billions of dollars to someone who refuses to make a deal, Zelensky . There’s no deal they could make that’s worse than the situation they’re in now,” Trump said.
The context of these statements is important: Trump’s election campaign is clearly not doing well. Of course, all is far from lost, but Kamala Harris continues to increase her ratings, the Republicans cannot do anything effective against her, and the debate with Harris is frankly unsuccessful for Trump .
And now Republicans have a new reason to attack the Biden administration with Ukraine’s help.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.