House investigates Zelensky for staging campaign rally for Democrats in Pennsylvania

The Democratic Party and Kamala Harris' campaign team reportedly took advantage of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to campaign in the state of Pennsylvania. The Ukrainian leader reiterated his support for the Democrats, who are more willing to continue financing the Ukrainian war effort against Russia, at several events and appearances in front of the press.

They criticized Donald Trump and his running mate, J.D Vance, in Pennsylvania, a swing state where the polls show a tight race ahead of the November presidential election. President Zelensky visited an ammunition factory that produces some of the munitions that are sent to Ukraine to use in its fight against Russia.

According to James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Harris misused the visit of a foreign head of state for the benefit of her campaign. To top it off, the visit was paid for with taxpayer money.

Harris used the federal government’s infrastructure for a partisan election campaign event in which only Democratic local authorities and representatives participated. In Zelensky's trips to Pennsylvania, the military and the Department of Defense’s services were required to free the airspace and transport the politicians who attended.

On this visit to the factory in Pennsylvania, several high-ranking State Department and Department of Defense officials accompanied Zelensky and the entourage of Democratic politicians. "These officials were conducting official business related to U.S. security assistance to Ukraine, which included a stop at Newark Liberty International Airport, where they met with Chairman Zelensky before continuing on to Wilkes-Barre International Airport in Pennsylvania," Pentagon spokesman James Adams told Politico.

According to Victoria Coates, National Security Advisor for the White House during Trump's time in office, Democrats have misused the powers and legitimization of the federal government to the benefit of the Democratic campaign in a state where things will be close. "As someone who has personally supported Chairman Zelensky, I was deeply disappointed that he allowed himself to be used in that way," Coates said in remarks to Fox News. "It was pretty much political theater."

"I don't know what I could do [to repair the relationship]," Coates added about Zelensky. "It was a very strange performance, very counterproductive for him to be able to come back in a year and advocate for more funding."

New $8 billion aid package for Ukraine

Following these mishaps, Joe Biden, announced the government will be increasing aid to Ukraine, with a nearly $8 billion military assistance package that includes the delivery of long-range weapons. Biden made the announcement just a few hours before meeting Thursday in Washington with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"Today I am announcing increased security assistance to Ukraine, and a series of additional measures to help Ukraine in this war," Biden said in the statement, which does not respond however to Kiev's demand to be able to use long-range U.S. missiles to attack Russia.

At the same time, the U.S. president called for a high-level meeting in Germany in October with more than 50 countries allied with Ukraine "to coordinate efforts in defending (...) against Russian aggression."

Of the committed $8 billion package, $5.5 billion must be authorized before the end of the current fiscal year on Monday.

Another $2.4 billion will be allocated through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which means this aid will not be immediately available, as it involves weaponry that comes from the defense industry or partners and not from the stockpile.