{"id":2345035,"date":"2024-09-23T19:32:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-23T23:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/zelensky-used-u-s-military-assets-to-campaign-for-harris-in-pa\/"},"modified":"2024-09-23T19:33:37","modified_gmt":"2024-09-23T23:33:37","slug":"zelensky-used-u-s-military-assets-to-campaign-for-harris-in-pa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/zelensky-used-u-s-military-assets-to-campaign-for-harris-in-pa\/","title":{"rendered":"Zelensky Used U.S. Military Assets To Campaign For Harris in PA"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fzelensky-used-u-s-military-assets-to-campaign-for-harris-in-pa%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2345035&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Pennsylvania to request financial and military assistance from the U.S. while simultaneously appearing to \u200dsupport Vice President Kamala Harris in\u2064 the upcoming election. \u2064On his trip, he \u200dtoured an\u200d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-aims-to-shut-down-ammunition-sales-while-dems-claim-to-engage-in-good-faith-gun-talks\/\" title=\"White House Aims To Shut Down Ammunition Sales While Dems Claim To Engage In Good Faith Gun Talks\">ammunition plant<\/a> with Gov. Josh Shapiro \u200cand other Democrats, stressing the importance of the ongoing war in Ukraine. Zelensky notably \u200ccriticized \u2064former President Trump and Ohio\u200d Senator J.D. Vance, calling Vance&#8217;s\u2062 proposals for ending \u2063the \u200bwar &#8220;sloganeering&#8221; and comparing negotiations with\u200b Russia\u2063 to appeasement of \u200dHitler before World War II. He emphasized the seriousness\u2063 of the war \u2064and the risks associated with underestimating it. Critics accused the Biden administration of using military assets for\u2063 political purposes, particularly regarding\u200c Zelensky&#8217;s arrival in \u200da U.S. military plane, which raised concerns about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/outrage-erupts-after-leftists-chase-sinema-into-bathroom-record-her-this-is-insane\/\" title=\"Outrage Erupts After Leftists Chase Sinema Into Bathroom, Record Her: \u2018This Is Insane\u2019\">foreign election interference<\/a>. Despite these criticisms, Zelensky expressed gratitude for American support and reaffirmed Ukraine&#8217;s stance in the face of Russian aggression.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to use U.S. military assets to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris on a visit to battleground state Pennsylvania on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>On another trip to ask the U.S. government for money and munitions, Zelensky toured a Pennsylvania ammunition plant with Gov. Josh Shapiro, a prominent Kamala Harris surrogate, and other Democrats, including Sen. Bob Casey. Zelensky arrived in Scranton, Pennsylvania (President Joe Biden&rsquo;s oft-referenced birthplace), aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17, images of which he used to advertise his visit. In a message <a href=\"https:\/\/www.president.gov.ua\/en\/videos\/same-ciyeyi-oseni-virishuyetsya-sho-bude-dali-v-cij-vijni-zv-6957\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recorded<\/a> from the inside the aircraft, Zelensky noted, &ldquo;This fall will determine what&rsquo;s next in this war.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Zelensky is in Pennsylvania today, signing bombs with Gov. Shapiro. Zelensky is also attacking J.D. Vance in the biggest, most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cnn-host-holding-elections-threatens-our-democracy\/\" title=\"CNN Host: Holding Elections Threatens Our Democracy\">important battleground state<\/a> in the country during an election year,&rdquo; Sean Parnell, former Pennsylvania Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/HowardMortman\/status\/1838336422836629889\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> at a Trump rally Monday. &ldquo;Folks, if that ain&rsquo;t foreign election interference, I don&rsquo;t know what is.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>Notably, Zelensky&rsquo;s trip came the day after The New Yorker <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20240923034321\/https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/news\/the-new-yorker-interview\/volodymyr-zelensky-has-a-plan-for-ukraines-victory\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">published<\/a> an interview in which he criticized former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio. Zelensky took issue with Trump&rsquo;s debate response about the war in Ukraine, in which the Republican said he wanted the war to end.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">During my visit to the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, where components for artillery and mortar shells are produced, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pennsylvania-ammo-plant-dramatically-ramps-up-production-to-meet-pentagons-ukraine-demand\/\" title=\"Pennsylvania Ammo Plant Dramatically Ramps Up Production to Meet Pentagon&#039;s Ukraine Demand\">including 155 mm shells<\/a> for Ukraine, I emphasized the dedication of the workers, which is truly inspiring&mdash;they are helping Ukraine stand strong in our fight for&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rs0vLZRlVU\">pic.twitter.com\/rs0vLZRlVU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Volodymyr Zelenskyy \/ &#1042;&#1086;&#1083;&#1086;&#1076;&#1080;&#1084;&#1080;&#1088; &#1047;&#1077;&#1083;&#1077;&#1085;&#1089;&#1100;&#1082;&#1080;&#1081; (@ZelenskyyUa) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ZelenskyyUa\/status\/1838100426631053786?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 23, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;Trump makes political statements in his election campaign,&rdquo; Zelensky said.  &ldquo;My feeling is that Trump doesn&rsquo;t really know how to stop the war even if he might&nbsp;<em>think<\/em>&nbsp;he knows how,&rdquo; Zelensky added [emphasis original]. &ldquo;With this war, oftentimes, the deeper you look at it the less you understand. I&rsquo;ve seen many leaders who were convinced they knew how to end it tomorrow, and as they waded deeper into it, they realized it&rsquo;s not that simple.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Ukrainian leader also called Vance &ldquo;too radical,&rdquo; saying his plan to end the war with Russia is &ldquo;just sloganeering.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;For us, these are dangerous signals, coming as they do from a potential Vice-President. I should say that it hasn&rsquo;t been like this with Trump,&rdquo; Zelensky said. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t take Vance&rsquo;s words seriously, because, if this were a plan, then America is headed for global conflict,&rdquo; he continued, comparing a negotiation with Russia to appeasement of Adolph Hitler prior to World War II.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Biden-Harris admin is using military assets to fly a foreign leader into a battleground state in order to undermine their political opponents,&rdquo; Dan Caldwell, public policy advisor at Defense Priorities, posted on social media.<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/dandcaldwell\/status\/1838249007681786343\/photo\/1\"><\/a><\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>Worth noting that Zelenskyy was flown to Pennsylvania on an U.S. Air Force C-17. <\/p>\n<p>The Biden-Harris admin is using military assets to fly a foreign leader into a battleground state in order to undermine their political opponents. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OSebVUuBEg\">https:\/\/t.co\/OSebVUuBEg<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/biMGTfAc1J\">pic.twitter.com\/biMGTfAc1J<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&mdash; Dan Caldwell &#127482;&#127480; (@dandcaldwell) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dandcaldwell\/status\/1838249007681786343?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 23, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>In response to an inquiry from The Federalist, the Department of Defense did not deny the use of American military assets for the trip, but declined to comment on Zelensky&rsquo;s statements or apparent campaign work.<\/p>\n<p>While not calling out Trump by name, Zelensky appeared to further criticize the former president later in the interview when he went after world leaders for seeking working relationships with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which Trump often stresses as key to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/2020-was-the-brian-stelter-of-years\/\" title=\"2020 Was the Brian Stelter of Years\">foreign policy success<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;A lot of world leaders want to have some sort of dealings with Putin, to reach agreements, to conduct some business with him. I look at such leaders and realize that they are very interested in playing this game &mdash; and for them, unfortunately, it really is a game,&rdquo; Zelensky said. &ldquo;But what makes a real leader? A leader is someone whom Putin needs for something, not a person who needs Putin. Flirting with him is not a sign of strength. Sitting across the table from him might make you believe you&rsquo;re making important decisions about the world.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Ironically, Zelensky also said, &ldquo;I think Ukraine has demonstrated the wisdom of not becoming captured by American domestic politics.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Zelensky <a href=\"https:\/\/www.military.com\/daily-news\/2024\/09\/23\/ukraines-zelenskyy-visits-pennsylvania-ammunition-plant-thank-workers-and-ask-more.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">visited<\/a> the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant during his trip to Pennsylvania. According to Military.com, the plant is one of a handful in the country that produces a 155 millimeter artillery shell. The United States has already shipped 3 million such shells to Ukraine.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>Scranton, Pennsylvania. I visited a plant that manufactures 155 mm artillery shells. Now, for our warriors who are defending not only our country, not only Ukraine, the plant will be ramping up production.<\/p>\n<p>I began my visit to the United States by expressing my gratitude to all&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OXnvqHclkM\">pic.twitter.com\/OXnvqHclkM<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&mdash; Volodymyr Zelenskyy \/ &#1042;&#1086;&#1083;&#1086;&#1076;&#1080;&#1084;&#1080;&#1088; &#1047;&#1077;&#1083;&#1077;&#1085;&#1089;&#1100;&#1082;&#1080;&#1081; (@ZelenskyyUa) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ZelenskyyUa\/status\/1837989488703779052?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 22, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The foreign leader will attend the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday and Wednesday before traveling to the nation&rsquo;s capital to meet with President Joe Biden and Harris to ask for more military assistance.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. has already <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/ukraine-russia-war-military-aid-pentagon-germany-38ba13ee8afba8c4d27ffc225b5534b9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">contributed<\/a> over $56 billion to Ukraine, making it the largest donor in the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. The group of about 50 countries has given Ukraine a total of $106 billion since the beginning of the war.<\/p>\n<p>The artillery shells Zelensky inspected, and to which he affixed signatures along with Shapiro, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.military.com\/daily-news\/2024\/09\/23\/ukraines-zelenskyy-visits-pennsylvania-ammunition-plant-thank-workers-and-ask-more.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">have<\/a> a range of 15 to 20 miles, but Zelensky has been persistently seeking longer-range missiles to fire into Russia. However, the Biden administration has not approved those munitions, and it has argued that the Ukrainian military already has the capability to fire at Moscow with its own drones.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Breccan F. Thies is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. He previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky seemed to leverage U.S. military resources to support Vice President Kamala Harris during his visit to Pennsylvania, a key electoral state, on Monday. This trip was part of his ongoing efforts to secure financial and military aid from the U.S. While in Pennsylvania, he visited an ammunition factory alongside Governor Josh Shapiro, a notable supporter of Harris, and other Democratic figures like Senator Bob Casey. Zelensky arrived in Scranton\u2014President Joe Biden&#8217;s frequently mentioned hometown\u2014on a U.S. Air Force C-17 plane, using images from the flight to promote his visit. In a recorded message from the aircraft, he stated that &#8220;this fall will determine what\u2019s next in this war.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Sean Parnell, a former Republican Senate candidate from Pennsylvania speaking at a Trump rally on the same day, remarked that Zelensky&#8217;s actions amounted to foreign election interference as he criticized J.D. Vance during an important election year.<\/p>\n<p>Zelensky&#8217;s visit coincided with an interview published by The New Yorker where he expressed criticism towards former President Donald Trump and Vance regarding their views on the Ukraine conflict. He disagreed with Trump&#8217;s comments about wanting the war to end and suggested that Trump might not fully grasp how complex it is to resolve such conflicts.<\/p>\n<p>During his tour of the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant\u2014which produces artillery components including 155 mm shells for Ukraine\u2014Zelensky praised the workers&#8217; commitment as vital for Ukraine&#8217;s defense efforts.<\/p>\n<p>He also labeled Vance as &#8220;too radical,&#8221; dismissing his proposals for ending the war as mere slogans and warning that they could lead America into global conflict if taken seriously.<\/p>\n<p>Dan Caldwell from Defense Priorities pointed out on social media that Zelensky\u2019s use of military assets for political purposes raised concerns about undermining domestic political opponents.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of Defense did not deny using American military resources for Zelensky\u2019s trip but refrained from commenting on either his remarks or any potential campaign implications.<\/p>\n<p>Later in his interview, while not directly naming Trump, Zelensky criticized world leaders who seek relationships with Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2014a stance often emphasized by Trump as essential for successful foreign policy\u2014arguing that true leadership involves being needed by Putin rather than seeking favor with him.<\/p>\n<p>Ironically acknowledging American politics&#8217; influence on international relations, Zelensky stated that Ukraine has managed not to be ensnared by these dynamics.<\/p>\n<p>During this trip focused on securing more military assistance ahead of attending the U.N. General Assembly and meeting Biden and Harris in Washington D.C., it was noted that since Russia&#8217;s invasion began over $56 billion has been allocated by the U.S., making it its largest donor among approximately 50 countries contributing over $106 billion total support for Ukraine since then<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":2345036,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/26595_gov_zelenskyy_3.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[4021,5836,33387,33489,8630],"class_list":["post-2345035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-harris","tag-pennsylvania","tag-political-campaign","tag-us-military","tag-zelensky"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/26595_gov_zelenskyy_3.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2345035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2345035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2345035\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2345036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2345035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2345035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2345035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}