Republican Rep Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina did not respond when The Independent asked whether he will attend a joint address to Congress by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, after the US congressman was videotaped calling the Ukrainian leader “a thug”.

       The The Independent sent two emails to the North Carolina Republican’s office asking whether he will attend the Ukrainian president’s joint address to Congress on Wednesday morning. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer invited the president to address Congress virtually as Russia continues its assault on the country.

       But North Carolina news station WRAL reported on a video of Mr Cawthorn deriding the Ukrainian president.

       “Remember that Zelenskyy is a thug,” Mr Cawthorn said in the video WRAL obtained. “Remember that the Ukrainian government is incredibly corrupt and is incredibly evil and has been pushing woke ideologies.”

       Later, Mr Cawthorn clarified that he supported the people of Ukraine.

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       “I am praying for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people,” he said. Later at an event in Rutherford County, Mr Cawthorn, the youngest member of Congress, said that “Honestly, both governments in both Russia and Ukraine are incredibly corrupt and very vile.”