Pompeo to visit Ukraine as Senate weighs impeachment trial

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Ukraine this week, making his first trip to country at heart of President Donald Trump’s impeachment.

As Senate weighs options for a trial, Pompeo will depart Thursday on a five-nation tour of Europe and Central Asia. Ukraine will be first stop on trip, State Department said Monday.

Trump’s impeachment on charges of abuse of office and obstruction of Congress hinges on his policy toward Ukraine. Witnesses told House investigators that Trump wanted Ukraine to anunce an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden’s son in return for releasing critical military aid to Ukraine.

One of those witnesses, William Taylor, is current acting U.S. ambassor to Ukraine although he will leave Kyiv shortly before Pompeo’s arrival in capital. Pompeo appointed Taylor to post over summer to take over from Marie Yovavitch, whose tour was abruptly cut short in May after Trump’s personal attorney Rudolph Giuliani me unsubstantiated allegations against her. Taylor’s position was temporary and time-limited by law.

In Kyiv, Pompeo will meet with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, whose July 25 phone call with Trump triggered whistleblower complaint that led to Trump’s impeachment. In that call, Trump dispard Yovavitch and asked Zelenskiy for “a favor,” suggesting he wanted Ukrainian authorities to investigate Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, for corruption. Trump has said call was “perfect” and has denied doing anything wrong.

In his meetings, Pompeo will “reaffirm U.S. support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” as country continues to battle Russia-backed separatists in east, State Department said in a statement. Pompeo also will hor Ukrainians who have died in conflict, which intensified after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in 2014, in a move condemned and rejected by most of international community.

In dition, Pompeo plans to meet Ukrainian religious, civic and business leers for talks on human rights, investment and ecomic and political reform, department said.

From Ukraine, Pompeo will travel on to Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Cyprus before returning home.