Washington — House Speaker Mike Johnson called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to fire his ambassador to the United States, amid escalating tensions between the foreign leader and former President Donald Trump and his allies .
In a letter to Zelensky on Wednesday, Johnson demanded the immediate dismissal of Oksana Markarova, accusing her of interfering in the presidential election by arranging the Ukrainian president’s recent visit to a munitions factory in Pennsylvania.
“The facility was in a politically contested battleground state, was run by a high-profile political appointee in Kamala Harris, and failed to include a single Republican because — intentionally — no Republican was guest,” wrote the Louisiana Republican.
He called the visit a “partisan campaign event designed to help Democrats.”
“This short-sighted and intentionally political decision has caused Republicans to lose confidence in Ambassador Markarova’s ability to serve fairly and effectively as a diplomat in this country,” he said.
The Ukrainian embassy and the Pennsylvania governor’s office have not yet responded to a request for information on whether Republican members of the congressional delegation had been invited to the tour with Zelensky.
Zelensky is in the United States to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he delivered a speech on Wednesday. Sunday he visited a munitions factorythanking the employees who produce one of the most vital munitions in the war against Russia.
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee is investigating the Pennsylvania trip to determine whether the Biden administration “attempted to use a foreign leader to benefit Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign.” Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer of Kentucky cited the use of a U.S. Air Force jet to transport Zelenskyy to the battleground state, his meeting with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Zelenskyy’s comments to the New Yorker.
In a recent interview, Zelensky told the magazine that Trump “doesn’t really know how to stop the war, even though he thinks he knows how.” He also called Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, “too radical.”
Trump, for his part, has said he would resolve the war between Ukraine and Russia upon taking office, if re-elected in November.
On Wednesday, while campaigning in North Carolina, Trump criticized Zelensky for making “little slanders” about him.
“We continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refuses to make a deal,” he said of Zelensky.
Trump said last week that he would “probably” meet with Zelensky while in the United States. But sources familiar with the former president’s schedule said this week that the two men are no longer expected to meet.
On Thursday afternoon, Trump posted a screenshot on social media of a purported message from Zelenskyy in which the Ukrainian leader asked to meet with Trump.
“I think it is important for us to have personal contact and understand each other 100%,” the message reads.
Vance, who has opposed increased aid to Ukraine, also criticized Zelensky at a rally in Michigan on Wednesday.
“I don’t appreciate Zelensky coming into this country and telling American taxpayers what to do,” Vance said. “He should say thank you to the American taxpayers.”
Zelensky was in Washington, D.C., on Thursday meet with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. He also had meetings with lawmakers from both sides of the party. Johnson did not attend Zelensky’s meeting with House members.
Ukraine has pushed the United States and NATO to lift restrictions on the use of long-range missiles supplied by the West against targets on Russian territory. Russian President Vladimir Putin said kyiv’s use of long-range missiles to strike targets deep inside his country would represent a a major escalation of NATO’s involvement in the war.
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