Ukraine's Zelensky, US House Speaker McCarthy Discuss Russia Sanctions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he and U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy discussed in a phone call Ukraine's need for weapons as well as increasing sanctions pressure on Russia.

On Twitter, Zelenskiy said he thanked McCarthy for bipartisan support in Congress for Ukraine as well as Ukraine's defense needs. "Outlined the situation at the front & Ukraine's urgent defense needs in armored vehicles, artillery, air defense & aircraft," Zelenskiy's tweet said.

He said they also discussed enhancing sanctions pressure on Russia, including in oil and gas.

A spokesman for McCarthy, the highest-ranking Republican in Washington, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

With strong support from both President Joe Biden's Democrats and McCarthy's fellow Republicans, Congress has approved billions of dollars of humanitarian, economic and defense aid for Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February 2022, including a $45 billion aid package approved in December.

However, some hard-right Republicans have questioned the aid, saying federal funds should be spent on domestic needs or devoted to competition with rising power China.

McCarthy's position has been that he backs Ukraine but House Republicans, who took control of the chamber in January, will not provide "a blank check" for U.S. assistance to Kyiv.

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