Trump planning endgame for Zelenskyy? His team holds ‘secret’ talks with Ukrainian leader’s rivals

A week after the ugly exchange of words between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, at least four officials from the US president’s team have reached out to the Ukrainian leader’s opponents amid Washington’s growing camaraderie with Russia.

According to a report by Politico, senior Trump allies talked to Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko. Tymoshenko is a former prime minister of the country and a senior member of Zelenskyy’s predecessor Petro Poroshenko’s party.

The conversations revolved around the feasibility of Ukraine conducting swift presidential elections. Currently postponed under the country’s constitution due to ongoing martial law, the elections face opposition from critics who argue they could be disorderly and benefit Russia.

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Trump has now and again raised the issue of elections in Ukraine as Zelenskyy’s term ended last year while Russia constantly dubs him an “illegitimate” leader. With a significant portion of the electorate either engaged in combat or displaced as refugees, ensuring a fair and secure voting process remains a major concern.

Is Trump interfering in Ukraine’s politics?

Calling for elections was one thing but meeting Zelenskyy’s rivals suggests that Trump is perhaps trying to have some hand in Ukraine’s internal politics.

The aides who met Tymoshenko said that they were confident Zelenskyy would lose votes due to the ongoing war and widespread corruption within the government. While his approval ratings did nosedive in the past months, the latest brawl in the Oval Office worked as a catalyst for Zelenskyy to gain back his popularity.

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Meanwhile, the US administration maintains that Trump is not involved in Ukraine’s internal affairs. This week, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick dismissed claims that his boss was influencing Ukrainian politics, stating that Trump’s only interest is in finding a partner for peace.

Early elections in Ukraine?

All the secretly discussed plans hinge on scheduling presidential elections after a temporary ceasefire is established. The Kremlin, which has long sought to remove Zelenskyy, is also advocating for an early election.

However, Tymoshenko and Poroshenko both have publically agreed with Zelenskyy that polls should not be held in the time of war. Nevertheless, “Poroshenko’s people and Yulia, they’re all talking to Trump World, positioning themselves as people who would be easier to work with. And people who would consent to many of the things that Zelenskyy is not agreeing to,” a top Republican source told Politico.

Poroshenko’s party, European Solidarity, told the news outlet, “Our narrative is not to push for elections but to secure free and fair competitive post-war elections in our country.”

“It is also logical that any contacts do include the presentation of the vision of President Poroshenko and the European Solidarity on the ways to end the war with [a] just, comprehensive and lasting peace and [on] the limits for possible compromises on the negotiating points,” it added.