Republican officials have accused Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky of interfering in US electoral politics and “campaigning” for presidential candidate Kamala Harris, after he visited an arms factory in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania.
Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro gave Zelensky a tour of the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant over the weekend, where both signed 155mm artillery shells that will presumably be shipped to Ukrainian troops.
Republican officials have taken issue with the photo op, as well as Zelensky’s recent interview with the New Yorker magazine, in which he criticized former President Donald Trump and Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, the party’s nominees in the November presidential election.
“Zelensky is openly campaigning for Democrats in battleground Pennsylvania today some 50 days out from our Presidential election. Unreal,” Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt wrote on X.
Pennsylvania Representative John Joyce told a local radio station on Tuesday that the visit was “a political stunt,” judging by its “suspect” timing.
A group of nine House representatives led by Lance Gooden of Texas have called for an investigation into Zelenksy’s visit. The Ukrainian leader was flown into Pennsylvania in a US Air Force C-17 military aircraft and was provided with Secret Service protection, both of which were paid for with US taxpayer money, the GOP lawmakers said in a letter to Pentagon Inspector General Robert Storch on Tuesday.
“There is concern that these resources were used for purposes unrelated to US national security or bilateral diplomacy but rather to support a politically significant visit ahead of a major US election,” said the letter, which was shared with the Washington Examiner.
Gooden questioned Zelensky’s judgment in alienating Republican voters in an interview with Fox News.
“Why is he [Zelensky] not on his knees thanking Americans, Republicans and Democrats, for the sacrifices they’ve made for his nation? And how dare he come into our nation and opine on any election, much less the presidential race?” the lawmaker asked on ‘The Ingraham Angle’ program.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, has been seen as attempting to rally the large Polish-American voter base in Pennsylvania by touting the support for Ukraine under the current administration as a way to protect Poland.
Zelensky has said he headed to the US to attend the UN General Assembly in New York and to meet President Joe Biden, in order to present him with a ‘victory plan’ to defeat Russia.