Republicans Offer Kyiv Reassurance on Aid Package. Do they Know Something We Don't?

Republicans Offer Kyiv Reassurance on Aid Package. Do they Know Something We Don’t?

KYIV, UKRAINE – JANUARY 31: US Sec. of State Mike Pompeo and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky attend a press conference at the president’s office on January 31, 2020 in Kyiv, Ukraine. The US State Department said the purpose of the trip was to convey support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as it fights a years-long war with Russian-backed separatists in the east. (Photo by Anastasia Vlasova/Getty Images)

Posted: February 29th, 2024

By Brian Bonner

Brian Bonner joined The Cipher Brief in March 2024. He led the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's English-language newspaper, from 2008-2021. He covered international, national and local news for the St. Paul Pioneer Press in Minnesota from 1983-2007.

SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE REPORTING — Four years ago, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Kyiv to reassure president Volodymyr Zelensky that the U.S. would stand by Ukraine after Russia illegally annexed Crimea in the eastern part of the country. Last week, Pompeo was back.

In fact, the former Secretary under former President Donald Trump has visited Ukraine multiple times since that 2020 meeting with Zelensky. But this time, Pompeo told an interviewer in the capital Kyiv, that he believes the U.S. will once again support Ukraine by passing a $60B aid package that – at the urging of former president Trump – is currently being held up by hard-right Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Access all of The Cipher Brief’s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+ Member.