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 wanted to make sure Mr. Danyliuk understood that if the assistance was not provided “by the end of the fiscal year, then it goes away.”891

As expected, at the outset of the bilateral meeting, President Zelensky immediately asked Vice President Pence about the status of U.S. security assistance. It was “the very first question” that he raised.892 President Zelensky emphasized the multifold importance of American assistance, stating that “the symbolic value of U.S. support in terms of security assistance … was just as valuable to the Ukrainians as the actual dollars.”893 President Zelensky also expressed concern that “any hold or appearance of reconsideration of such assistance might embolden Russia to think that the United States was no longer committed to Ukraine.”894

According to Ms. Williams, the Vice President “assured President Zelensky that there was no change in U.S. policy in terms of our … full-throated support for Ukraine and its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”895 Vice President Pence also assured the Ukrainian delegation that he would convey to President Trump the details of President Zelensky’s “good progress on reforms, so that hopefully we could get a decision on the security assistance as soon as possible.”896

The reassurance proved to be ineffective. The Washington Post later reported that one of President Zelensky’s aides told Vice President Pence: “You’re the only country providing us military assistance. You’re punishing us.”897

Mr. Holmes testified that President Trump’s decision to cancel his Warsaw trip effectively meant that “the hold [on security assistance] remained in place, with no clear means to get it lifted.”898

After the bilateral meeting between Vice President Pence and President Zelensky, Ambassador Sondland briefly spoke to President Zelensky’s aide, Mr. Yermak. Ambassador Sondland conveyed his belief that “the resumption of U.S. aid would likely not occur until Ukraine took some kind of action on the public statement that we had been discussing for many weeks” regarding the investigations that President Trump discussed during the July 25 call.899

Immediately following the conversation, Ambassador Sondland told Mr. Morrison what had transpired during his aside with Mr. Yermak. Mr. Morrison recounted to the Committees that Ambassador Sondland told Mr. Yermak “what could help them move the aid was if the prosecutor general would go to the mike [sic] and announce that he was opening the Burisma investigation.”900