Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited the leader of the US House of Representatives, Republican Kevin McCarthy, to visit Kiev, at a time when protests are rising among US conservatives over support for Ukraine.
“McCarthy has to come here and see how we work, what’s happening, what the war has done, what people are fighting and who they’re fighting. And then decide,” Zelensky said during an interview with CNN.
As leader of the new Republican majority in the lower house of the US Congress, Kevin McCarthy is the third most important figure in US politics after the president and vice president.
“I think McCarthy has never visited Kiev or Ukraine and I think this could help him,” the Ukrainian president added. according to excerpts from the interview released by the channel.
However, the leader of the Republicans in the House of Representatives told CNN he didn’t need to go to Ukraine to understand the situation.
In his current position, McCarthy can thwart President Joe Biden’s massive aid program for the defense of Ukraine against the Russian invasion.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine more than a year ago, the United States has provided nearly $100,000 million in military, economic, and humanitarian aid.
Democrat Nancy Pelosi, who preceded McCarthy in office, was in Kiev in May 2022 to show her support for Ukraine.
While McCarthy is not against US aid to Ukrainians, he has repeatedly said that Congress should not write “blank checks” without due diligence.
Yet a minority of Republicans in Congress have opposed military and financial aid to Ukraine.
“My position has always been not to write a blank check. From that point on, I don’t have to go to Ukraine to find out if it’s a blank check or not,” McCarthy told CNN.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 has so far led to the flight of more than 14.6 million people – 6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than 8.1 million to European countries – according to the latest data from the UN, which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
At the moment, at least 18 million Ukrainians need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million people need food aid and shelter.
The Russian invasion – justified by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russian security – was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and Russia political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented 8,173 civilian deaths and 13,620 wounded as confirmed since the start of the war, underlining that these numbers are well below the real ones.
Source: DN
