US House Speaker McCarthy declines Zelensky invitation to visit Ukraine
- Ukraine’s president invited top US lawmaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, to show him how US aid is being put to use against Russia
- A sizeable minority of Republicans in Congress have expressed opposition to US arms and financial aid to Ukraine
US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he has no plans to visit Ukraine after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky extended an invitation.
In an interview with CNN, Zelensky asked McCarthy, a Republican, to see the situation in Ukraine first-hand.
“Mr McCarthy, he has to come here to see how we work, what’s happening here … Then after that, make your assumptions,” Zelensky said in the CNN interview broadcast on Wednesday.
The United States has extended nearly US$32 billion in aid to Ukraine since Russian troops invaded on February 24, 2022, but some far-right Republicans have balked at sending more.
McCarthy became speaker of the House of Representatives in January, making him the top Republican in the US legislature, capable of impeding Democratic President Joe Biden’s strong aid programme for Kyiv.
Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv last month to show US solidarity with Ukraine one-year after the conflict began as have other top US officials and some members of Congress.