US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he does not intend to visit Ukraine, rejecting an invitation from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to visit his country, during an interview with the American network "CNN," scheduled to be broadcast later on Wednesday, March 8, 2023.

In response to a question about Zelensky's invitation, McCarthy told CNN that he does not need to travel to Ukraine and will obtain the information in other ways.

Zelensky also asked McCarthy, who belongs to the Republican Party, to see the situation in Ukraine for himself, saying: "Mr. McCarthy should come here to see how we operate, and what is happening here… then make your assumptions."

This comes against the backdrop of a "division" in the Republican Party about whether the United States should continue providing aid to Kyiv, which has been under Russian attack for a year.

The United States has provided about $32 billion in aid to Ukraine since the Russian forces invaded it on February 24, 2022, but some far-right Republicans oppose sending more, according to Reuters.

McCarthy also said during the interview that he supports Ukraine but does not endorse "blank checks," referring to the large military aid Washington sends to Kyiv.