Hardliners around Donald Trump are primarily behind the blockade. The former president allegedly wants to pay back an old score for Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump is said to have asked the Ukrainian president in the middle of the US election campaign to initiate investigations against his challenger Joe Biden and his son Hunter. The conversation was one of the triggers for the first impeachment proceedings against the former U.S. president. The Republicans are refusing to give their consent to US President Joe Biden to send military aid to Ukraine. The US House of Representatives is currently stuck in a billion-dollar package to finance military support for the Ukraine war. The blockade is apparently also about old problems with President Zelenski. But in his opinion, Trump “and the people around him believe that Ukraine was the cause of all the problems, said Lev Parnas, a former supporter of the ex-president, in an interview with US magazine Politico. The German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock interpreted the Republican spokesman's renewed presentation of the Ukraine package as a hopeful sign. Resistance from the ranks of Trump supporters remains strong. The prospect of Trump coming to power again in the US election in November is unlikely to please anyone in Kiev. Trump himself has recently made no secret of his stance on Ukraine. He had previously boasted that he could end the war in Eastern Europe within 24 hours. No one in Ukraine doubted that he would push for a freeze on the conflict in negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In Ukraine, Trump's activities are being watched like a hawk. The US House of Representatives is expected to vote on a package of bills on Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and US border protection on Wednesday. The bill is expected by the end of the day to be approved by the House, but it is not clear whether it will pass the chamber. The House is currently in recess until after the midterm elections on November 6, when it will be back in action.