At the end of August this year, the U.S. frozen military aid Ukraine, demanding that Kyiv announce a criminal investigation into Hunter Biden, the son of former US Vice President Joe Biden.
This was stated by the head of the US Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff, speaking at hearings in the US Congress in the case of impeachment of President Donald Trump, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to the intelligence officer, the current US President, Republican Donald Trump, through members of his administration, demanded that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky personally announce the investigation, otherwise there could be no talk of military assistance.
“The provision of military assistance was suspended on the instructions of the President's chief of staff, Molweni. Negotiations followed regarding a possible meeting between Trump and Zelensky, with President Trump insisting there was no connection to military aid. On September 21, a meeting took place between Pence and Zelensky. Zelensky raised the issue of military assistance.
After this meeting, Sonland (U.S. Permanent Representative to the EU Gordon Sondland) contacted Ermak and made it clear that it was necessary to openly announce the start of the investigation into the Burizm case.
After this, a telephone conversation took place in which Trump was asked what he wanted to achieve. It was said that President Zelensky should personally announce the opening of the investigation. Sondland also said that if President Zelensky does not agree to do this, then the relationship between the United States and Ukraine will reach a dead end. This meant military assistance,” Schiff said.
Let us recall that the release of a transcript of a conversation between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky about a possible investigation into both Bidens caused a political crisis in the US; Democratic congressmen began preparing for Trump’s impeachment.
Hunter Biden himself called his participation a mistake in business in Ukraine at the gas company Burisma, where he served on the board of directors.