House Speaker to Meet Zelensky This Week

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U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 10 during the NATO summit in Washington, Reuters reported on July 7.

As speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives since October 2023, Johnson has been widely accused of delaying new aid to kyiv because of his refusal to vote on various iterations of the foreign aid bill that allocated $61 billion to Ukraine.

Earlier this summer, Johnson said he disagreed with imposing restrictions on kyiv on the use of U.S.-supplied weapons and criticized the Biden administration’s “micromanagement of the war effort in Ukraine.”

The United States authorized Ukraine on June 1 to use U.S.-supplied weapons, including HIMARS rockets, to strike targets in Russia near the border with Kharkiv Oblast, after Russia launched a new offensive in the region on May 10.

Ukraine said Washington’s initial ban on striking targets in Russia meant Ukraine was unable to attack Russian forces as they gathered before crossing the border into Kharkiv Oblast. in the new Russian offensive launched on May 10.

Support for Ukraine is expected to be a major focus of this year’s NATO summit. Incumbent President Joe Biden has provided significant monetary and military support to Ukraine over the past two years, while rival candidate Donald Trump has promised to end Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine within 24 hours, but has not publicly specified how he plans to do so. One plan is reportedly to cede territory to Russia.

Politico reported earlier this month that diplomats and world leaders preparing for next week’s NATO summit are privately expressing significant concerns about President Biden’s age, health and ability to win the 2024 presidential election.

Biden faces a tough task at the upcoming NATO summit, where he is expected to address allies’ concerns about the United States’ commitment to Ukraine. But his debate performance against Trump shifted the summit’s focus to an assessment of Biden’s physical and political resilience.

The next NATO summit will take place July 9-11 in Washington, DC.