AdvertisementRepublican lawmakers shared Democrats’ concerns about the holdup in aid, as did Pentagon and State Department officials. “The United States has been very good to Ukraine,” Trump told Zelensky, complaining the relationship had not been “reciprocal.”The congressional trip that Garamendi led to Kyiv and Lviv in September had been planned months in advance. But since the whistleblower complaint became public a few days before the delegation arrived in Ukraine, the visit quickly became focused on the on-the-ground effects of the delay in military aid, Garamendi said. Along with the Countering Russian Influence Fund and other State Department programs, these accounts serve as a signal of political will in the U.S. to stand up to Russian influence. Congress approved the $250 million in military aid and an additional $141 million in assistance from the State Department last fall with bipartisan support.

Source: Los Angeles Times October 14, 2019 17:03 UTC