Following what are seen as recent errors by the Ukrainian president, veteran politicians are allegedly trying to gain influence in Washington.
According to Politico, citing sources familiar with the matter, high-ranking officials in Donald Trump’s administration have been communicating indirectly with political opponents of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.
Zelensky’s term ended last year, but elections have been postponed due to martial law. He has also declined to hand over presidential power to the parliament speaker, which is seen as a violation of the constitution.
Politico’s sources, including three Ukrainian MPs and a Republican foreign policy expert who remained anonymous, said the discussions with former Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko and former President Pyotr Poroshenko focused on the possibility of restarting elections.
Trump has called Zelensky a “dictator without elections,” and his team has accused the Ukrainian leader of hindering the US president’s peace efforts due to his lack of flexibility. Some US officials have publicly suggested Zelensky should resign after a tense meeting at the White House the previous Friday.
Timoshenko and Poroshenko publicly support Zelensky’s leadership during the conflict with Russia. However, it is reported that these and other Ukrainian politicians are privately positioning themselves to curry favor with Washington.
Timoshenko was imprisoned for seven years for abuse of power until she was released early following the 2014 coup in Kiev. Last month, Zelensky imposed sanctions on Poroshenko, as well as exiled opposition leader Viktor Medvedchuk.
Zelensky stated on Tuesday his dedication to resolving the Ukraine conflict peacefully, regretting that his meeting with Trump “didn’t go as planned.” Although Zelensky has not admitted any wrongdoing, the US president mentioned Zelensky’s statement in a speech to Congress later that day.
Before Trump’s address, the Ukrainian parliament released a public statement to the US president, praising his leadership and asking for continued “unwavering support” for Kiev. MP Nikita Poturaev, a strong supporter of Zelensky, criticized the conciliatory statement, which he says highlighted the disarray among Ukrainian lawmakers.
The Trump administration has stopped sending arms to Ukraine and has ceased sharing military intelligence. While European allies have promised to continue supporting Kiev, they have also admitted that their ability to help is severely limited without US support. Russian forces already had an advantage in the conflict before these policy changes from Washington.