GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie traveled unannounced to Ukraine on Friday, where he met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the country’s capital, Kyiv.
This is Christie’s first trip to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in March 2022.
Christie met with Zelenskyy in Kyiv’s presidential palace, where the president thanked Christie for visiting and for the U.S.’s support throughout the war against Russia.
Chris Christie visited #Ukraine and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as he underscored strong US support for Kyiv's fight against #Russia.
Christie, once a Trump ally, is now challenging him for their party's 2024 presidential nomination. pic.twitter.com/sAxL9R1ZL8
— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) August 4, 2023
“It’s very important that all the country, all the Americans, are on the right side of the truth, democracy,” Zelenskyy said.
Christie said his visit was so he can see the status of Ukraine as the country undergoes a war against Russia.
“I feel the cruelty, and you feel the inhumanity,” Christie said while visiting the villages of Bucha and Moschun on the outskirts of Kyiv. “And you look at this, and I don’t think there’s anyone in our country who would come here and see this and not feel as if these are the things that America needs to stand up to prevent.”
During his visit, Christie placed flowers at the site of a memorial complex for Ukrainian soldiers who were killed by Russian troops in Moschun.
“I really suspected that if I saw this in person that it would arm me to be a better advocate for support, I think, from the stuff I saw today just now, and the meeting with the president … I think I’m much better off,” Christie said after meeting Zelenskyy.
Christie, as one would suspect, noted that Zelenskyy spoke very fondly of President Joe Biden, who has handed Ukraine billions of dollars like a drunken sailor.
“He was very complimentary of President Biden, some of the things that he’s advocated for, but also made clear that he thought there was more that needed to be done,” Christie said. “There was no conversation at all from him about, you know, the race that I’m in.”
Exclusively for our VIPs: Ukraine Counteroffensive Has Become a Meatgrinder That Can’t Go on Indefinitely
Christie pointed out to Zelenskyy that “political arguments” are currently taking shape in the United States regarding further financial aid to Ukraine. The GOP presidential candidate, however, told Zelenskyy he would always support Ukraine.
“I would also like to sincerely thank you and your colleagues, in particular the Congress. We are grateful for the bipartisan support, which is extremely important to us. We are very grateful to President Biden and his administration. It is extremely important that your entire country, all Americans, are on the side of truth and democracy, and they are convinced of Ukraine’s victory,” Zelenskyy said.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member