Ukraine president: ‘No blackmail’ in conversation with Trump
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says there was “no blackmail” in the phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump that helped spark an impeachment inquiry.
Responding Thursday to questions from The Associated Press, Zelenskiy said he only learned after their July 25 phone call that the U.S. had blocked hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine.
“We didn’t speak about this” during the July call, Zelenskiy said, saying the military aid wasn’t the “theme” of the conversation. He spoke Thursday during an unusual, all-day “media marathon” in a Kyiv food court amid growing questions about his actions as president.
Trump asked Zelenskiy during the call to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden, according to a rough White House transcript. Congressional Democrats believe Trump was holding up the aid to use as leverage to pressure Ukraine and advance his domestic political interests ahead of next year’s U.S. presidential election.