WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday during the NATO summit in Washington, according to Johnson’s schedule.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
Support for Ukraine is expected to be a focus at the summit in Washington this week. There are concerns about the future of U.S. support for Kyiv should Donald Trump win the Nov. 5 presidential election.
Johnson in April spearheaded a $95 billion bipartisan aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan that was opposed by allies of former President Trump in Congress.
CONTEXT
Republican presidential candidate Trump has indicated he would quickly move to cut aid to Kyiv if elected.
While Trump in April declined to lobby against passage of the aid package, he made waves in February when he suggested the U.S. should not defend NATO countries that do not meet their obligations to contribute to their national defense.
Reuters reported last month that two key advisers to Trump have presented him with a plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine – if he wins the Nov. 5 presidential election – that involves telling Ukraine it will only get more U.S. weapons if it enters peace talks.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has killed or wounded tens of thousands and reduced cities to rubble. The United States has provided Ukraine with more than $50 billion worth of military aid since 2022.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis)
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