President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi spoke by phone on Tuesday with the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the US Congress, Republican Kevin McCarthy, who he assured that Ukraine can account for every dollar provided by Washington as aid, as Republicans want to make sure that the American aid is real. not impressed

The conversation took place during the working visit of the President of Ukraine to the Poltava Region, according to the press release of the Ukrainian President, News.ro reports.

The head of the Ukrainian state expressed gratitude for the constant bipartisan support of Ukraine from the US Congress. “As the president assured, Ukraine is ready to account for every dollar of American aid,” the Office of the President of Ukraine reported.

Kevin McCarthy’s position is that he supports Ukraine, but the Republicans in Congress, who took control of the House of Representatives in January, will not give a “blank check” for American aid to Kyiv.

As a result, Volodymyr Zelenskyi informed the American interlocutor – the third person in the country after the president and vice president – about the conduct of hostilities in the main hot spots on the front and about the urgent defense needs of the country, especially regarding armored vehicles, long-range, artillery, air defense and aviation, it is said in the Kyiv press release.

Zelenskyi and McCarthy also discussed the need to increase sanctions pressure on Russia, including by lowering the price ceiling for Russian oil and gas.

The Kyiv communiqué also states that Volodymyr Zelensky invited Kevin McCarthy to visit Ukraine. It is not the first time Zelensky has invited Kevin McCarthy, but now he had the opportunity to do so directly and officially.

Some Republicans oppose increasing aid to Ukraine

At the beginning of last month, the Republican leader said that he has no intention of visiting Ukraine after such an indirect invitation by the President of Ukraine Zelensky in an interview with CNN. “Mr. McCarthy needs to come here to see how we work, what is happening here… Then, after that, make his assumptions,” Zelenskyy said in an interview with CNN.

At the time, the United States had given Ukraine nearly $32 billion in aid, and some far-right Republicans oppose sending more aid, wanting to impose spending controls to ensure aid is not diverted.

Asked about Zelensky’s invitation, McCarthy told CNN that he doesn’t need to go all the way to Ukraine and that he gets information in other ways. “I will continue to receive my briefings, I don’t need to go to Ukraine or Kyiv to see them,” he told CNN.

President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv in February to show US solidarity with Ukraine a year after the conflict began, as did other senior US officials and some members of Congress.

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