Four senior officials from the entourage of U.S. President Donald Trump have held secret talks with some of the biggest political opponents of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Politico reports.
It is stated that these discussions began at the moment when Washington agreed with Moscow that the Ukrainian leader must be removed.
Trump’s associates have allegedly met with Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, the highly ambitious former prime minister, as well as with senior members of the party of Petro Poroshenko, Zelensky’s predecessor, according to three Ukrainian parliamentarians and one unnamed American Republican foreign policy expert.
This information has been confirmed by the Ukrainian opposition portal Strana, based on sources from political circles in Kyiv and the Verkhovna Rada. The outlet, which operates from abroad, claims that Trump’s representatives are engaged in discussions with “various parties” regarding election preparations and pushing Zelensky towards negotiations for ending the war.
At the same time, Strana’s sources expressed surprise that media outlets—referring to Politico—have only highlighted Poroshenko and Tymoshenko among Trump’s contacts with Ukrainian politicians.
“In reality, the Americans are communicating with everyone. Moreover, their primary focus is not on working with Poroshenko and Tymoshenko, whose influence on the current situation is insignificant. Trump’s allies are currently focusing on several key figures: Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who, according to polls, could defeat Zelensky in an election; Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, one of the few government officials openly criticizing Bankova Street (the location of the president’s office); as well as the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, and the leader of the Servant of the People party, David Arakhamia. These individuals oppose (Andriy) Yermak and have a more positive stance than the head of the Presidential Office regarding Trump’s idea of ending the war as soon as possible, believing it to be the right move for Ukraine. Through these contacts, Washington aims to create internal pressure on Zelensky to convince him to agree to a ceasefire. This also serves as a test to determine who they can rely on in post-war Ukraine, given the White House’s deeply skeptical stance toward Zelensky,” said Strana’s source.
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“Zelensky Has Gone Completely Crazy”
The same source believes that Ukrainian politicians, with few exceptions, are afraid to publicly criticize Zelensky’s handling of relations with Trump. However, behind the scenes, there is growing “confusion” over the Ukrainian president’s behavior.
“No one understands why he was rude to Trump and (U.S. Vice President James David) Vance at the White House, why he is so adamantly opposed to Trump’s ceasefire plan, only to end up facing a cut in U.S. aid. Considering all the factors, a ceasefire would currently be beneficial for Ukraine. But Zelensky is trying to block this idea in every possible way. And so, in Trump’s eyes, he, not Putin, has become the main obstacle to peace. Ukraine is already feeling the consequences of this. Moreover, if things continue in this direction, the impact may not be limited to just the cessation of aid. There is little hope from Europe. The last summit in London demonstrated a lack of willingness to prolong the war in Ukraine without U.S. support. Because of this, dissatisfaction is growing over Zelensky’s handling of relations with the U.S. Some even speculate that he has completely lost his mind or that he is a Russian agent,” the source stated.
According to this anonymous source, in an attempt to counteract these negative perceptions, the Ukrainian government is now launching a media and social media campaign while also initiating counterattacks on the battlefield.
“Social media is flooded with praise for Zelensky, as well as messages predicting that we just need to ‘hold out for one more day and one more night’ and that Russia is ‘on the brink of collapse.’ At the same time, the few remaining reserves of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been thrown into counteroffensives near Pokrovsk and other areas to show at least some ‘progress,’ boost morale on the front lines and among the public, and also demonstrate to the West that ‘Ukraine can win even without U.S. aid.’ However, we are risking burning through our reserves for the sake of short-term tactical and information-political gains, which could have disastrous consequences for the entire front in a few months,” the source warned.
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Source: Euronews, Foto: AFP