Speaker Mike Johnson Demands Ukrainian President Zelenskyy Fire Top Diplomat After 'Partisan Campaign Event' In Battleground State

On Wednesday, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) called upon Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to fire the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, after a "partisan campaign event" at an ammunition factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Monday with Harris campaign surrogate Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA).

"After organizing a partisan campaign event in a battleground state this week, Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova demonstrated she cannot be trusted to fairly and effectively serve as a diplomat in this country," Speaker Johnson wrote on X with a letter attached. "President Zelenskyy must immediately remove her." In his letter to the Eastern European leader, the Louisiana Republican noted that no Republican lawmakers were invited on the trip and that it was meant to promote the Biden-Harris agenda in a swing state central to the 2024 race.

Zelenskyy, transported to the manufacturing facility aboard an Air Force C-130, is in the country to speak to the United Nations and to present his "Victory Plan" to President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and President Trump. "During my visit to the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, where components for artillery and mortar shells are produced, including 155 mm shells for Ukraine, I emphasized the dedication of the workers, which is truly inspiring—they are helping Ukraine stand strong in our fight for freedom," the Ukrainian president wrote on X. "I am grateful to the people of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and all the states where Americans are building this incredible arsenal of global freedom. Together, we are strengthening the defense of liberty and democracy."

The Ukrainian president's trip to the ammunition plant, which has ramped up production of 155mm artillery shells in recent months, was quickly met with criticism from conservatives after Zelenskyy, particularly after he criticized 45th President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH).

When asked during an interview what he thought about Sen. Vance, Zelenskyy said that he is "too radical" and claimed that the Ohio Republican wants Ukraine to "give up our territories." The Ukrainian president said Vance's "message seems to be that Ukraine must make a sacrifice. This brings us back to the question of the cost and who shoulders it. The idea that the world should end this war at Ukraine's expense is unacceptable. But I do not consider this concept of his a plan in any formal sense. This would be an awful idea, if a person were actually going to carry it out, to make Ukraine shoulder the costs of stopping the war by giving up its territories. But there's certainly no way this could ever happen."

"This kind of scenario would have no basis in international norms, in UN statute, in justice. And it wouldn't necessarily end the war, either. It's just sloganeering," he added. The criticism of Vance's position led conservatives to point out that the trip to Pennsylvania, a battleground state, was likely strategic by the Biden-Harris administration to attempt to convince voters that they should vote for the party that would give a blank check to Ukraine.

"Zelensky is openly campaigning for Democrats in battleground Pennsylvania today, some 50 days out from our Presidential election. Unreal," Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) wrote on the trip.

"This is an impeachable offense on the part of Biden-Harris. And dangerously reckless move on Zelensky's part to campaign for Harris in a battleground state on U.S. taxpayer funds," The Federalist Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway wrote.

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