McCarthy says Zelenskyy meeting was 'direct' and 'productive'
McCarthy described the House side meeting with Zelenskyy as “very good, thought it was direct, thought it was productive.”
McCarthy said he “raised issues with him” and noted that “we’re very concerned about accountability.”
Ahead of the meeting, McCarthy told reporters Wednesday that he planned to ask Zelenskyy, "What’s the strategy to win? Accountability, they want to make sure the resources are going to the right place."
As Congress races toward a Sept. 30 deadline to pass a government funding bill or risk a shutdown, McCarthy is facing pushback from some members of his caucus on whether to continue to provide Ukraine aid.
Zelenskyy meets with Schumer and McConnell
Just after 10 a.m., after meeting with House leaders, Zelenskyy walked through the Ohio clock corridor near the Senate chamber, standing between Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
They did not respond to questions from reporters about Zelenskyy's response to Republicans skeptical of sending additional aid to Ukraine.
The leaders are meeting inside the Old Senate Chamber. Zelenskyy received applause when he entered the room.
After meeting with Zelenskyy, McCaul seems confident Ukraine will receive additional $24 billion in U.S. aid
After participating in the meeting with Zelenskyy on the House side, Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, seemed confident that Ukraine will get the additional funding that the White House has requested from Congress.
Asked if Zelenskyy brought up that potential $24 billion aid package, McCaul said, "Of course, I mean, they need it, and they're gonna get it." He said that it should be included in a supplemental appropriations bill.
McCaul, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, claimed that the Republicans support providing aid, but acknowledged that there's "dissension on both sides."
McCaul said that McCarthy has shown "strong support" for Ukraine, but said they're both frustrated with the Biden administration in how slow the U.S. is taking to deliver weapons to Ukraine.
He said McCarthy asked about accountability, the speed of weapons and a plan for victory against Russia.
Zelenskyy at the Capitol
Zelenskyy is in the Capitol and holding meetings with senior lawmakers.
Zelenskyy to visit Congress and meet with Biden at the White House
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday afternoon after heading to Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers who will be asked to continue to fund his nation’s defense against Russia.
Zelenskyy will meet with senators in the morning followed by bipartisan House leaders.
In his second trip to Washington since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, Zelenskyy and Biden will meet in the Oval Office, followed by an expanded bilateral meeting in the East Room that Vice President Kamala Harris will also attend.
McCarthy says he rejected request for Zelenskyy to address joint session of Congress
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said this morning he turned down a request from Zelenskyy to address a joint session of Congress.
McCarthy said that there wasn't enough time for a joint address given the busy legislative week and said what they are doing for Zelenskyy — a meeting with members — is the same as what they did for the prime ministers of the U.K. and Italy on recent visits.
Plus, McCarthy said, Zelenskyy had already addressed Congress.
The refusal was first reported by Punchbowl.
On what McCarthy plans to say to Zelenskyy this morning when they meet: “Well I think the best part is to sit down and walk through the questions. What is the plan for victory, where are we currently on the field, the accountability issues that a lot of members have questions.”
Trump says he’s pleased by Putin’s praise: ‘I like that he said that’
Former President Donald Trump said Thursday that he appreciated recent praise from Russian leader Vladimir Putin. In an exclusive interview with NBC “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker, Trump said it meant “what I’m saying is right,” referring to his positions on the war in Ukraine.
Trump readily claimed in the interview that if re-elected president, he would resolve the war within 24 hours, though he provided few details about how he would end a conflict that has dragged on for more than 18 months. The former president has asserted several times that he could quickly end the war.
“If I tell you exactly, I lose all my bargaining chips. I mean, you can’t really say exactly what you’re going to do. But I would say certain things to Putin. I would say certain things to Zelenskyy,” he said, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Putin, Russia’s longtime leader, said at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, last week that he had heard “that Mr. Trump says he will resolve all burning issues within several days, including the Ukrainian crisis. We cannot help but feel happy about it.”
Poland, with election looming, says it isn’t sending new arms to Ukraine
Poland is no longer arming Ukraine as it is focusing on building up its own stocks of weapons, the prime minister said on Wednesday, as Warsaw’s stance toward Kyiv shifts just weeks before an election.
Poland is only carrying out previously agreed arms deliveries to Ukraine, a government spokesman said on Thursday, amid souring bilateral relations due to a grain dispute just weeks before a Polish parliamentary election.
Poland has been seen until recently as one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies in its war with Russia, but its decision to extend a ban on Ukrainian grain imports has annoyed Kyiv.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Wednesday that Poland, a NATO member, was no longer arming Ukraine and was focusing on rebuilding its own weapon stocks.
Asked about Morawiecki’s comments on arms supplies, State Assets Minister Jacek Sasin said: “In this case, Polish interests come first. We cannot disarm the Polish army, we cannot get rid of the weapons that are necessary for our security.”
Russia strikes cities from east to west Ukraine, starting fires and killing at least 2
Russian missiles pounded cities across Ukraine early Thursday morning, according to Ukrainian authorities, starting fires, killing at least two people and trapping others under rubble.
The early morning missile attack was Russia’s largest in over a month, and came a day after reports of sabotage at a Russian military airfield in Chkalovsk near Moscow.
It also coincided with the United Nations General Assembly summit in New York, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a speech and presented a Ukrainian “peace formula,” and came on the International Day of Peace.
In the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, near the front lines, two people were killed Thursday and at least five injured after a strike hit a residential building, said regional Governor Oleksand Prokudin.
Seven people were injured in Kyiv, including a 9-year-old girl, reported Mayor Vitalii Klitschko, and some residential and commercial buildings were damaged.