Politics

Biden will push Ukraine’s president to ‘tackle corruption’ when he visits White House

President Biden will host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Aug. 30 and push him to “tackle corruption,” despite claims of corruption in Ukraine involving his own family, the White House said Wednesday.

As vice president, Biden led the Obama administration’s Ukraine policy while his son Hunter Biden earned a reported $83,000 per month on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma, despite no relevant industry experience.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, “The visit will affirm the United States’ unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression in the Donbas and Crimea, our close cooperation on energy security, and our backing for President Zelensky’s efforts to tackle corruption and implement a reform agenda based on our shared democratic values.”

House Democrats impeached President Donald Trump in late 2019 over a call with Zelensky in which Trump suggested the Ukrainian authorities investigate the Bidens for corruption. The Senate acquitted Trump of allegedly abusing his power.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit “will affirm the United States’ unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. EPA

Biden claimed in 2019, “I have never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings.” But documents from a laptop formerly belonging to Hunter Biden indicate that the younger Biden introduced a visiting Burisma exec to his dad in 2015.

Emails recently published by The Post indicate that the elder Biden attended a dinner at DC’s Cafe Milano that featured the Burisma leader and also Hunter Biden business associates from Russia and Kazakhstan.

The Zelensky visit comes as the Biden administration stands down on sanctions aimed at preventing Russia from finalizing a gas pipeline that bypasses Ukraine.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline will carry gas directly to Germany, in theory allowing Russia to cut off gas that transits through Ukraine, denying the poor country an important source of income.