Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry released a blistering statement Saturday accusing the first and only Ukraine-born U.S. lawmaker of playing politics over Russia’s war.
The extraordinary statement comes after Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) asked President Joe Biden to brief Congress on years-old allegations against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak. Earlier this week, the freshman lawmaker also slammed both Biden and Zelenskyy for their approaches to the ongoing war, infuriating officials in both countries.
“We advise Ms. Spartz to stop trying to earn extra political capital on baseless speculation around the topic of war in our country and the grief of Ukrainians,” Oleg Nikolenko, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, said in a lengthy statement on Facebook. “Especially cynical are manipulations about Ukraine and its leadership from congresswomen of Ukrainian origin.”
For the most part, Ukrainian officials have bit their tongues when it comes to criticism of their country and its officials emanating from the fringes of American politics. But Spartz’s posture has clearly rankled the Ukrainian government, with Nikolenko noting in his statement that Ukraine is “deeply grateful” to Congress as well as to Biden personally for the billions of dollars in military and humanitarian aid the U.S. has provided since the war began....
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