Victoria Spartz, a member of the House of Representatives of the US Congress from the Republican Party, who previously asked to "solve the problem" of the head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak, was offered a meeting with him, but she refused.
CNN writes about it.
According to journalist sources, Ukrainian officials offered to organize a meeting between Yermak and Spartz to clarify the situation, but she refused.
Spartz acknowledged that she had been offered a meeting with Yermak after she sent the letter to Biden, but at the time Ukraineʼs Foreign Ministry criticized her attacks on Yermak, calling them "cynical" and "baseless."
"I decided that this meeting would be unproductive under such circumstances," said Victoria Spartz.
The journalists also learned that at first she was not included in the Congress delegation that visited Ukraine.
According to CNN sources, Spartz flew to the border of Ukraine with Poland at her own expense, and there she contacted American lawmakers to join some of their meetings.
Others on the official trip said Spartz was "snarky", "accusatory" and "unhelpful" during key meetings with NATO members, generals and government officials. This raised concerns that her presence did more harm than good.
"She was like a bull in a crockery shop. I donʼt know if it was pent-up frustration or if she didnʼt feel like she was getting enough information, but she was just accusatory and rude," said an anonymous Republican lawmaker.
Spartz, in an email to CNN, dismissed anonymous criticism of her decision to make it to the congressional delegation and disputed the description of her behavior during the trip.
CNN journalists also learned that Victoria Spartz spoke with Volodymyr Zelenskyʼs assistant on June 24 and offered to "connect" him "with the right people" who, according to her, could help the Ukrainian army win.
“Do you want me to send someone good to discuss training when you get back, or maybe he can meet with Reznikov or someone else this week? Some of them may also bring very advanced equipment to use...he will do it as a favor to you and me, so we will have to do these meetings "off the record," Spartz wrote.
When asked about the messages, Spartz told CNN that they were taken out of context and that she was "just trying to help connect with anyone who wants to help Ukraine win the war."
- On July 8, a member of the US House of Representatives, Victoria Spartz, wrote a letter to US President Joe Biden about the need to check the so-called "Russian connections" of the head of the Presidentʼs Office, Andriy Yermak. Then Spartz published a list of claims against Yermak. She also stated that President Volodymyr Zelensky "must solve the problem" of Yermak and called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to take her statements seriously.
- The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleh Nikolenko advised her to "stop trying to earn additional political capital on baseless speculations around the topic of war."
- The Ukrainian Congressional Committee of America and the co-chair of the Ukraine Support Group in the US Congress, Marcy Kaptur, condemned Spartz, saying that she recklessly plays along with Putin. Kaptur said that the United States Congress strongly supports President Zelensky and his leadership.
- On July 10, the spokesman of the President of Ukraine, Serhiy Nikiforov, stated that Volodymyr Zelensky had not received Spartzʼs appeals regarding the need to "solve the problem" of Yermak. He said Spartzʼs claims were "an American affair" for now.