Top Republican Calls for Dismissal of Ukrainian Ambassador to US Ahead of Zelenskiy’s Visit, Reports Reuters

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON – The Republican Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives has called for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to "immediately fire" his ambassador to the United States, just a day before Zelenskiy is scheduled to visit Congress.

Some Republican members, particularly those aligned with former President Donald Trump, have expressed outrage over Zelenskiy’s recent visit to an ammunition plant in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the hometown of President Joe Biden. Pennsylvania is deemed a pivotal swing state ahead of the upcoming presidential election on November 5.

During the visit, Zelenskiy was accompanied by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who supports Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, as well as Senator Bob Casey and Representative Matt Cartwright, both Democrats. Speaker Johnson criticized the visit, noting that it took place in a politically contested battleground and asserted that no Republicans were invited to participate intentionally. He branded the event as a partisan campaign effort aimed at aiding Democrats and characterized it as election interference.

The Ukrainian embassy in Washington has not commented on the matter.

Trump has also voiced criticism of Zelenskiy while campaigning this week, stating, "Those cities are gone, they’re gone, and we continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refused to make a deal, Zelenskiy. There was no deal that he could have made that wouldn’t have been better than the situation you have right now," referring to Ukraine’s devastation. He accused Biden and Harris of being responsible for the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022.

The Republican-led House Oversight Committee plans to investigate whether Zelenskiy’s trip was an attempt to leverage a foreign leader for the benefit of Harris’ campaign. Typically, it is standard practice for governors to meet with foreign leaders visiting their states; for example, Zelenskiy was hosted by Republican Governor Spencer Cox during a factory visit in Utah in July.

Recently, other foreign leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have visited Florida to meet with Trump at his estate. Trump narrowly won Florida in the 2020 election, and current polling suggests a competitive race between Harris and Trump in that state.

Zelenskiy is expected to express gratitude to congressional leaders on Thursday for their approval of billions in aid for Ukraine as it continues to face a prolonged Russian invasion, while also advocating for additional support.

Since becoming speaker last year, Johnson has consistently opposed aid for Ukraine and took until April to allow a House vote on Biden’s request for financial assistance in October. However, he clarified on Wednesday that his request for Zelenskiy to dismiss his ambassador was not intended as a threat to halt funding. "I’m not making any threats," he stated to reporters.