Zelensky’s top aide holding talks with Trump’s team
Vladimir Zelensky’s right-hand man Andrey Yermak is trying to convince people close to US President-elect Donald Trump that Kiev could endorse his peace plans rather than being an obstacle, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The Republican has claimed that he can resolve the Ukraine conflict in 24 hours after he returns to the Oval Office in January.
Yermak, the chief of staff to the Ukrainian leader, is visiting the US to meet key figures picked by Donald Trump for his future administration, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and multiple news outlets have said.
According to the WSJ, Kiev has arranged contacts with Susie Wiles, the co-chair of Trump’s election campaign who has been tapped to become White House chief of staff, Keith Kellogg, who Trump has picked to be a special envoy to Ukraine, and Mike Waltz, the incoming national security adviser.
Prior to the November presidential election, Zelensky caused a GOP backlash by visiting an arms factory in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, where he was received by Democrats. Republicans have accused the Ukrainian leader of campaigning for their rivals, with House Speaker Mike Johnson demanding that Kiev sack its ambassador to Washington, who organized the trip.
The lobbying attempt by Yermak comes as Ukrainian forces are suffering from battlefield defeats and a shortage of reinforcements. In recent remarks, Zelensky has acknowledged that his country cannot beat Russia militarily and expressed a desire to restore control over all territories Kiev claims through diplomatic efforts.
According to CNN, Kiev has ordered the troops which occupy part of Kursk Region in Russia to hold on at all costs until Trump’s January 20 inauguration. The operation, which has resulted in almost 38,000 Ukrainian casualties, according to Kremlin estimates, was meant to secure a bargaining chip in future talks. Trump’s transition team has reportedly proposed freezing hostilities along the current front line and suspending Ukraine’s bid to join NATO for at least a decade.
Moscow has said that no peace negotiations will happen as long as Ukrainian forces remain in Kursk Region. NATO’s intention to welcome Ukraine was a key cause of the conflict, Russian officials have maintained.
