Speaker Johnson: Zelenskyy should immediately fire ambassador of Ukraine to United States
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson called for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to immediately dismiss Ambassador Oksana Markarova, accusing her of interfering in U.S. elections, as reported on X on September 25.
Johnson accused the Ukrainian diplomat of organizing a partisan pre-election event in a swing state.
Johnson's allegations
"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. President Zelenskyy must immediately remove her," Johnson wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account.
In the United States, swing states are those where there is no clear majority support for either of the two major political parties, making them crucial battlegrounds in presidential elections.
Johnson also sent a letter to Zelenskyy detailing his position. He alleged that Markarova organized an event where Zelenskyy visited a manufacturing facility in a swing state led by a prominent political ally of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (referring to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro).
Johnson believes that his Republican colleagues were deliberately not invited to this event, calling Zelenskyy's visit a "clearly partisan campaign event designed to help Democrats and is clearly election interference."
Because of this, Johnson wrote, Republicans have lost confidence in Markarova's ability to serve as a diplomat in the USA effectively and fairly, and therefore, she "should be removed from her position immediately."
"Additionally, as I have clearly stated in the past, all foreign countries must avoid opining on or interfering in American domestic politics. Support for ending Russia's war against Ukraine continues to be bipartisan, but our relationship is unnecessarily tested and needlessly tarnished when candidates at the top of the Republican presidential ticket are attacked in the media by officials of your government," Johnson stated.
He emphasized that such incidents must not recur and expressed his belief that the Ukrainian president "will take immediate action."
Background of the Incident
Johnson did not mention it directly, but on September 23, Zelenskyy, while on a visit to the USA, toured the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Pennsylvania, which produces artillery shells for Ukraine.
On September 25, Politico reported that Republican James Comer, chair of the House Oversight Committee, launched an investigation into this visit.
Earlier, Comer's Republican colleagues in the House had criticized the event because several Democrats participated in a public appearance with Zelenskyy.
Comer took a different approach, focusing on the fact that Zelenskyy visited a swing state.
He sent letters to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and White House Counsel Dana Remus, accusing the presidential administration of aiding potential interference in the 2024 presidential elections.
Specifically, Comer compared Zelenskyy's visit to the first impeachment process of the 45th President, Donald Trump, which centered on Trump's attempt to pressure Zelenskyy into investigating Joe Biden (related to the Burisma case involving Biden's son Hunter).
Zelenskyy traveled to the USA to participate in the UN General Assembly and meet with world leaders. He aims to present his victory plan to current President Biden, Congress, and presidential candidates Harris and Trump. Meetings with Biden and Harris are scheduled, while a meeting with Trump is still uncertain. At the UN General Assembly, Zelenskyy outlined his victory plan to a delegation of the U.S. Congress.
Zelenskyy explained that the victory plan includes five points and specific amounts of military aid that Ukraine seeks from its Western allies.
On September 24, Zelenskyy told the UN Security Council that Russia is preparing to attack three Ukrainian nuclear power plants. On September 25, at the UN General Assembly, Zelenskyy reported that Russian attacks have destroyed all Ukrainian thermal power plants and a significant portion of hydroelectric capacities, potentially leaving millions without heating this winter.