Top Trump allies hold secret talks with Zelenskyy’s Ukrainian opponents

Four senior members of Donald Trump’s entourage have held secret discussions with some of Kyiv’s top political opponents to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, just as Washington aligns with Moscow in seeking to lever the Ukrainian president out of his job, POLITICO reveals.

The senior Trump allies held talks with Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, a remorselessly ambitious former prime minister, and senior members of the party of Petro Poroshenko, Zelenskyy’s immediate predecessor as president, according to three Ukrainian parliamentarians and a U.S. Republican foreign policy expert.

The discussions centered on whether Ukraine could hold quick presidential elections. These are being delayed in line with the country’s constitution because Ukraine remains under martial law. Critics of holding elections say they could be chaotic and play into Russia’s hands, with so many potential voters serving on the front lines or living abroad as refugees.

The Trump aides are confident that Zelenskyy would lose any vote due to war fatigue and public frustration over rampant corruption. Indeed, his poll ratings have been in decline for years, although they have picked up in the wake of last week’s Oval Office brawl, when the Ukrainian leader was shown the door after being berated by President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

Trump has accused Zelenskyy of being a “dictator without elections,” and hinted he would not be “around very long” if he didn’t do a deal with Russia. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has falsely accused Kyiv of canceling the election. (In response to the news in this article, Elon Musk tweeted: “Ukraine needs to hold an election. Zelensky would lose by a landslide.”)

The key to all of the plans under discussion via back channels is to hold presidential elections after a temporary ceasefire is agreed, but before full-scale peace negotiations get underway in earnest. The idea of an early presidential election is also being pushed by the Kremlin, which has wanted to be rid of Zelenskyy for years.

Both Tymoshenko and Poroshenko have publicly opposed holding elections before the fighting ends, as has Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Nonetheless, “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 foreign policy expert told POLITICO, asking that his name be withheld so he could speak freely.

After publication of this story, the parties of both Tymoshenko and Poroshenko issued statements to defend their diplomatic activities. Tymoshenko said her team was negotiating “with all our allies who can help ensure a just peace as soon as possible.”

Poroshenko said: “We work publicly and transparently with American partners, aiming to preserve bipartisan support of Ukraine.” He added that he had repeatedly offered to coordinate contacts with Zelenskyy’s office and invited the Ukrainian ambassador to Washington to participate. “We have repeatedly spoken publicly about the lack of communication in the ruling team with the U.S. administration, which poses a risk to the state,” he added.

For days now, Trump cabinet officials have suggested Zelenskyy should step aside unless he comes fully on board with the U.S. plan to end the war rapidly, even if it involves major concessions by Ukraine.

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