Of all the meetings that will take place between heads of state at the United Nations in New York next week, the one between Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian turned president of Ukraine, may be the strangest. Last month, as Ukraine’s government was trying to negotiate the release of its prisoners from Russia, it received news from Washington. The White House had frozen $250 million of military assistance to Ukraine that had already been approved by Congress until further review. The administration set no criteria or time frame for the review. But a month earlier, in a telephone conversation with Zelensky, then newly elected, Trump said he was “convinced the new Ukrainian government would be able to quickly improve the image of Ukraine and complete the investigations of corruption cases, which inhibited the interaction between Ukraine and the usa.”
Ukraine-U.S. Relations
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during the March of Dignity to celebrate the 28th anniversary of Ukraine's independence in Kyiv on August 24, 2019.
