Ukrainian officials are “disturbed” by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to leave Mike Pompeo out of his incoming administration, The Economist reported on Tuesday.
Kiev’s top brass views Pompeo, a former CIA director and secretary of state, as an ally sympathetic to Ukraine’s cause, so Trump’s announcement last Saturday to exclude him from his cabinet is seen as a “very negative development,” one official told the British publication.
Pompeo’s connections to Ukraine go beyond diplomacy. In 2023, he joined the board of Kyivstar, a leading Ukrainian telecoms company, securing a lucrative position that Kiev believed would reinforce his support for the country. This lucrative role raised eyebrows and met with comparisons to a previous executive role conferred on President Joe Biden’s son Hunter.
With Trump’s latest cabinet selections under scrutiny in Kiev concerns are mounting that Pompeo’s absence could signal a pivot in Washington’s stance on the conflict. “The worry now is that Mr. Trump’s offer to Ukraine will come to resemble something closer to ideas put forward by J.D. Vance, the incoming vice president,” The Economist noted.
Vance, a strong skeptic of further US involvement in Ukraine, has argued that peace will require Kyiv to make territorial concessions, a view President Zelensky has criticized as “too radical.”
Trump, however, has promised a quick resolution, claiming he could end the Ukraine conflict within 24 hours. Meanwhile, Zelensky’s team has reportedly worked to highlight Ukraine’s potential importance in curbing China’s influence by denying it access to Ukraine’s mineral resources, positioning continued US support as part of a broader geopolitical strategy.
According to The Economist, Trump’s decision may have been influenced by ideological differences rather than any rift with Pompeo personally, who unlike several former Trump officials, has refrained from publicly criticizing the president-elect. However, with Pompeo off Trump’s team, Ukrainian officials remain wary, as his absence may lead to diminished US support.