The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives declined to meet with Zelensky

Republicans continue to intensify their tough rhetoric towards Volodymyr Zelensky.

Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson refused to meet with the Ukrainian president, who is currently in the U.S., according to a journalist from *Voice of America*.

“No, I couldn’t schedule a meeting with Zelensky this week because I was very busy, as you all could see. And I don’t even think I’ll be in town tomorrow,” Johnson said in response to a question about the possibility of such a meeting.

If such a meeting had taken place, Johnson said he would have discussed the issue of Ambassador Oksana Markarova.

Earlier, Johnson urged Zelensky to dismiss Markarova over the organization of his visit to Pennsylvania, which Republicans considered interference by Kyiv in the elections on the side of Kamala Harris (Pennsylvania being one of the key ‘swing’ states).

According to the Speaker, this is “a terrible turn of events. It escalates tensions between the two countries at a very unfortunate time for Ukraine.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee has launched an investigation into Volodymyr Zelensky’s flight to Pennsylvania to visit an ammunition factory, which was reportedly funded by American taxpayers’ money.