Top congressional leaders plan to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy next Wednesday during the NATO Summit in Washington, where allies will discuss the besieged nation’s path into the alliance.
Who’s in: On the Senate side, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will lead a bipartisan group of senators meeting with Zelenskyy. From the lower chamber, House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas) will meet with the Ukrainian leader.
POLITICO confirmed the plans Wednesday with spokespeople for Johnson, McCaul and two other people familiar with them who were granted anonymity to discuss internal planning. The scheduled meetings have not been previously reported.
Uncertainty about U.S. commitment: The visit also comes as Zelenskyy is trying to understand whether after Nov. 5 — when Americans go to the polls — Ukraine would still have the powerful support of the U.S., or be left to fend for itself.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV published Wednesday, Zelenskyy lamented Washington’s delays in providing aid.
“They can’t plan my life and the life of our people and our children,” he said. “We want to understand whether in November we will have the powerful support of the U.S., or will be all alone.”
The aid in the works, and asked for: After a six-month delay, Congress this year passed a bipartisan national security measure with funds for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
Zelenskyy met this week with a bipartisan congressional delegation led by House Intelligence Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio). Zelenskyy at the meeting continued to advocate for additional air support and air defenses “and also for the United States’ aid to come more quickly, all of which are things that we share of his concerns,” Turner said in a statement.
Jordain Carney contributed to this report.
