President Zelensky: Let Go Of Visit By Speaker. Don’t Be Like Dog With Bone- Contest Of Wills. Pressure Will Backfire. Ukraine’s Gravitational Vortex? Only 4.2% Of U.S. Congress Visited
Volodymyr Zelensky, President Of Ukraine, Needs To Let Go Of Visit To Kyiv By Kevin McCarthy. Don’t Be Like A Dog With A Bone.
Few Politicians Have Defied President Zelensky, And Fewer Yet Publicly. Trying To Pressure Mr. McCarthy Will Backfire. Don’t Make This A Contest Of Wills.
Not Every Member Of United States Congress Wants To Visit Ukraine. Unnecessary To Be Pulled Into The Gravitational Vortex That Has Become Issues Relating To Ukraine.
4.5% Of The United States House Of Representatives Have Visited Ukraine.
13% Of The United States Senate Have Visited Ukraine.
Members Of The United States Congress Increasingly Annoyed At President Zelensky’s “Pushiness”
One Member Of The United States Congress, “Unfortunately, [President] Zelensky Is Becoming Like A Stereotyped Used Car Salesman- Won’t Let Customer Go Without Buying What He’s Selling. Used Car Salesmen Have The Reputation They Have Deservedly So.”
If President Zelensky Wants To Increase Level Of Support From Members Of The United States Congress, He Should Require Conversion Of All Grants And Donations To Loans (With Interest). Confirm That No Matter How Long It Takes, Government Of Ukraine Will Repay- Knowing Eventually Politicians Will Likely Forgive Some Or All.
President Zelensky Should Not Believe He Can Or Should Try To Influence The 2024 United States Presidential Election. Those Seeking Nominations Of The Democratic Party And Republican Party Will Visit Ukraine And Seek A Photo With President Zelensky.
Some politicians will not be visiting Ukraine because they support Ukraine- they will be visiting Ukraine because it provides an optic- images, quotes, and videos for campaign commercials, campaign speeches, compensated appearances, and particularly for radio and television appearances. A moment to look and sound tough on decisions by the armed forces of the Russian Federation. During each visit there will be, particularly for those seeking the 2024 presidential nomination of the Republican Party, efforts to sound more robust than their competitors.
President Zelensky must resist the temptation to present these visitors with certificates, medals, and plaques (with their name inscribed) on the Walk of the Brave. Instead of names of politicians and celebrities who visit Kyiv, these plaques should only include the names of countries- to recognize their respective taxpayers who have and continue to fund (and borrow) for support provided to Ukraine.
President Zelensky will be well advised not be look to the playbook of Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of the State of Israel, who has no issue with inserting himself into the election process in the United States, seeking to undermine one candidate and benefit another candidate.
“Mr. [Kevin] McCarthy, he has to come here to see how we work, what's happening here, what war caused us, which people are fighting now, who are fighting now. And then after that, make your assumptions. I think that Speaker McCarthy, he never visited Kyiv or Ukraine, and I think it would help him with his position.” Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine
“Let’s be very clear about what I said: no blank checks, OK? So, from that perspective, I don’t have to go to Ukraine to understand where there’s a blank check or not. I will continue to get my briefings and others, but I don’t have to go to Ukraine or Kyiv to see it. And my point has always been, I won’t provide a blank check for anything.” Kevin McCarthy (R- California, 20th District), Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
Travel Background
On 24 February 2022, the armed forces of the Russian Federation invaded and further invaded the territory of Ukraine in what President Putin defined then as a Special Military Operation [SMO] and which on 22 December 2022 he redefined as a war. The initial invasion by the armed forces of the Russian Federation was in part from the territory of the Republic of Belarus.
From 24 February 2022 through 14 March 2022, government officials from other countries did not travel to Ukraine.
Since 15 March 2022, fifteen presidents (two twice), sixteen prime ministers (six twice, one three times), two chancellors, three deputy prime ministers, sixteen foreign ministers (some more than once), one U.S. secretary of state (twice), three secretaries (ministers) of defense, one attorney general (twice), president of European Commission (EC)(twice), president of the European Council (EC), president of European Parliament (EP), Secretary-General of the United Nations (twice), First Lady of the United States, have visited Ukraine. Members of the United States Senate, United States House of Representatives (including the Speaker), and Parliaments have also visited Ukraine.
Most of these individuals, accompanied by their respective staff and security detail, traveled from Poland into Ukraine by train- in VIP carriages complete with bedrooms, bathrooms, dining rooms, and conference rooms.
United States House Of Representatives
(435 Members- 222 Republicans, 213 Democrats)
Visited Ukraine
Democrat- 12 (including then Speaker Nancy Pelosi)
Republican- 8 (one confirmed twice, but self-reported six times)
United States Senate
(100 Members- 48 Democrats, 3 Independents (all caucus with Democrats), 49 Republicans
Visited Ukraine
Democrat- 4
Independent- 1
Republican- 8 (one twice who has retired)
Who Has Visited Ukraine
3 March 2023 (Lviv)- Merrick Garland, United States Attorney General, second visit
27 February 2023 (Kyiv)- Janet Yellen, United States Secretary of the Treasury
21 February 2022 (Kyiv)- Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs; Darrell Issa (R-California), Keith Self (R-Texas), Max Miller (R-Ohio), Jake Ellzey (R-Texas), members of the United States House of Representatives
20 February 2023 (Kyiv)- Joseph Biden, President of the United States (NATO)
6 January 2023 (Kyiv)- Jack Reed (D- Rhode Island), Angus King (I- Maine), members of the United States Senate
15 November 2022 (Kyiv)- William Burns, United States Director of Central Intelligence (CIA)
8 November 2022 (Kyiv)- Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations
4 November 2022 (Kyiv)- Jacob Sullivan, Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor, The White House
3 November 2022 (Kyiv)- Christopher Coons (D- Delaware), Robert Portman (R- Ohio; retiring; second visit)
6 October 2022 (Kyiv)- Samantha Power, Administrator, United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
8 September 2022 (Kyiv)- Antony Blinken, United States Secretary of State, second visit
31 August 2022 (Kyiv)- Amy Klobuchar (D- Minnesota), Rob Portman (R- Ohio), members of the United States Senate
23 July 2022 (Kyiv)- Mikie Sherrill (D- New Jersey), Adam Smith (D-Washington), Chairman of Armed Services Committee, Mike Waltz (R-Florida), Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan), Mike Quigley (D-Illinois), members of the United States House of Representatives
7 July 2022 (Kyiv)- Richard Blumenthal (D- Connecticut) and Lindsey Graham (R- South Carolina), members of the United States Senate
27 June 2022 (Kyiv)- James Risch (R- Idaho), the ranking minority member of the United Sates Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
21 June 2022 (Kyiv)- Merrick Garland, United States Attorney General
4 June 2022 (Kyiv)- Victoria Spartz (R- Indiana), United States House of Representatives
24 May 2022 (Kyiv)- Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania), United States House of Representatives
14 May 2022 (Kyiv)- Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), Minority Leader of the United States Senate; Susan Collins (R-Maine), United States Senate; John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), United States Senate; John Cornyn (R-Texas), United States Senate
8 May 2022 (Uzhhorod)- Dr. Jill Biden, Ph.D., First Lady of the United States, wife of Joseph Biden, 46th President of the United States
30 April 2022 (Kyiv)- Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives accompanied by Democratic Party Representatives Gregory Meeks, Representative Adam Schiff, Representative James McGovern, Representative Jason Crow, Representative Barbara Lee, Representative William Keating
24 April 2022 (Kyiv)- Antony Blinken, United States Secretary of State (NATO), and Lloyd Austin, United States Secretary of Defense
14 April 2022 (Kyiv)- Steven Daines (R- Montana), United States Senate; Victoria Spartz (R- Indiana)
Biden 2024 Budget Proposal Implies Substantial Resources For Ukraine Not Required Beyond 2023. US$113 Billion Appropriated In 2022. US$8.922 Billion For 2024? Some 2022 Funds Not Yet Spent.
In 2022, the 117th United States Congress appropriated US$113 billion for Ukraine with those funds to be disbursed from 2022 through 2026 (or earlier as ordered equipment becomes available for delivery). The 117th United States Congress (House of Representatives and Senate) were controlled by the Democratic Party. The 118th United States Congress has a House of Representatives controlled by the Republican Party.
The White House proposes to spend US$842 billion in Fiscal Year 2024 for the United States Department of Defense (DOD) representing an increase of 3.2% (absent accounting for inflation) from Fiscal Year 2023. The budget proposal includes funding for Ukraine- although not specifying whether the proposed funding is military-related or economic-related.
“Supports Ukraine, European Allies, and Partners. The Budget provides over $6 billion to support Ukraine, the United States’ strong alliance with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and other European partner states by prioritizing funding to enhance the capabilities and readiness of United States, allied, and partner forces in the face of continued Russian aggression.”
“In addition, the Budget requests $753 million for Ukraine to continue to counter Russian malign influence and to meet emerging needs related to security, energy, cybersecurity, disinformation, macroeconomic stabilization, and civil society resilience.”
“To assist Ukraine and manage the aftershocks of Putin’s invasion, the request includes 469 million to bolster the economy and ensure the continuity of government services, strengthen their energy infrastructure and cyber security, and ultimately promote the resilience of the Ukrainian people.”
“This request includes $1.7 billion that will help Ukraine win the war and lay the reform and recovery foundation for winning the peace and help other partners impacted by the war stabilize their economies and prepare for recovery.”
