Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S., September 22, 2024.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Service | Reuters
House Oversight Chair James Comer is opening an investigation into Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy‘s Sunday visit to an ammunition factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Comer claims that the trip was organized to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris‘ bid for presidency, and was done using “taxpayer-funded resources.”
The Republican investigation comes as the relationship between Zelenskyy and former president Donald Trump seems to sour.
On Wednesday, Trump accused Zelenskyy of insulting him — Trump said the Ukrainian president was “making nasty little dispersions toward” him — and adding that he got along with Russian President Vladimir Putin “very well.”
“There’s really nothing for the Ukrainian people to go back to, and it didn’t need to happen. Those buildings are down, those cities are gone. They’re gone, and we continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refuses to make a deal,” Trump said of Zelenskyy while speaking at a plumbing parts manufacturer in Mint Hill, North Carolina.
Zelenskyy is in the United States to attend the UN General Assembly high-level week in New York, where he is meeting with world leaders. He also plans to visit the White House on Thursday, where he will meet with President Joe Biden and, later in the day, with Harris.
Trump was expected to meet with the Ukrainian President on Thursday at Trump Tower, but a Trump campaign official told NBC News Wednesday that the meeting was not happening. When asked why, a source familiar with the matter pointed to Zelenskyy’s New Yorker interview.
In an interview published Sunday by the New Yorker, Zelenskyy said that Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance was “too radical” and his message “seems to be that Ukraine must make a sacrifice,” in ending the war with Russia.
When asked if Ukraine should cede land in exchange for a ceasefire with Russia in a press conference Wednesday, Vance said “everything is going to be on the table.”
Comer’s letter also criticized the timing of the visit with the publishing of Zelenskyy’s comments regarding Trump’s running mate.
The ammunition factory that Zelenskyy visited is operated by General Dynamics and manufactures components for 155 mm artillery shells, a crucial piece of ammunition to Ukraine’s battle efforts.The United States had shipped more than 3 million rounds of it to Ukraine since February 2022, according to a Pentagon fact sheet from July 2024
On Wednesday, the Defense Department announced additional security assistance of $375 million for Ukraine, including more of the 155 mm artillery shells that the Scranton factory specializes in manufacturing.
“I began my visit to the United States by expressing my gratitude to all the employees at the plant and by reaching agreements to expand cooperation between Pennsylvania and our Zaporizhzhia,”…
Read More: Zelenskyy insulted him; House GOP to probe Ukraine leader’s PA trip