Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied on Thursday that Donald Trump tried to blackmail him by withholding military aid to Kiev in a phone call between the two leaders.
“There was no blackmail,” the comedian-turned-politician told a news conference. A transcript of the phone conversation showed Trump asked Zelensky to investigate his political rival Joe Biden.
The US president’s request that Zelensky probe the activities of Joe Biden’s son Hunter has sparked an impeachment probe in the US, with the Democrats looking into whether Trump used a delayed aid package as leverage.
Trump wanted Kiev to investigate Hunter Biden’s activities in Ukrainian gas firm Burisma.