Speaker Johnson demands Zelenskyy remove Ukraine’s ambassador to US after Pennsylvania visit

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson is calling on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to fire his country’s ambassador to the U.S. as Republicans criticize Zelenskyy’s visit to an ammunition plant in Pennsylvania, a swing-state, as a political stunt.

The Republican speaker’s demand Wednesday came as Zelenskyy addressed the United Nations in New York on the eve of his visit Washington, where he has plans to brief lawmakers on Capitol Hill about the war effort before meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House.

“The tour was clearly a partisan campaign event designed to help Democrats and is clearly election interference,” Johnson wrote in a letter to Zelenskyy.

Johnson, who is close to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, said no Republicans were invited to the plant tour on Sunday, which he said was arranged by Ambassador Oksana Markarova.

An Army official said it was standard procedure to invite House and Senate members who represent the district where such industrial plants are located. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal discussions, said that in this case interested congressional members from the area attended.

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