Trump Team Holding Secret Talks With Ukrainian Opposition As US Sours On Zelensky

You know that President Zelensky is in trouble when even Democrats in the US are calling for new elections in Ukraine, at a moment that some Trump officials have issued comments strongly hinting they prefer to see new leadership in Kiev.

For example Maine Democratic Rep. Jared Golden has this week urged Zelensky to "call and win a new election" to "strengthen his hand" in negotiating a peace agreement to end the war. Golden said in the earlier Tuesday statement that Zelensky must "show the world he has the mandate" from the Ukrainian people.

Trump previously hammered Zelensky for being a "dictator without elections" - however, Ukraine's parliament recently voted to uphold his 'legitimacy' - backing the martial law situation which constitutionally allows elections to be canceled and delayed indefinitely. 

A new bombshell report has been issued Thursday saying that Trump's team is actually engaging members of the Ukrainian opposition in secret - toward efforts in support of potential political transition in Kiev.

Politico writes, "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."

"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 report continues.

Tymoshenko has confirmed that her team is talking "with all our allies who can help in securing a just peace as soon as possible."

This is massive and will without doubt see relations spiral further, at least until Zelensky comes to the US administration with hat in hand. The White House wants a formal apology. But it seems the opportunity to willingly sign Trump's controversial mineral deal has come and gone.

As for the content of these secret Trump admin and Ukrainian opposition meetings, Politico reveals:

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," the report continues. "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. The most recent poll shows Zelenskyy still comfortably ahead in the race for the presidency."

Zelensky's declining popularity is something that the mainstream media has kept silent on for at least the last year or so. There also remains significant domestic opposition to conscription policies which have seen recruiters taking harsh measures, in some cases forcibly rounding up young men on the streets to eventually send them to the front lines.

As for another potential rival for power, who might seriously challenge Zelensky, Political highlights the following:

His nearest rival, trailing him by more than 20 percentage points, is Valery Zaluzhny, a former army commander who is now Ukraine’s ambassador to Britain. Only 10 percent backed Poroshenko, who is known as the Chocolate King due to his confectionary empire. Tymoshenko garnered just 5.7 percent support.

In Washington, perhaps highest official to have come closest to actually calling for a change in leadership in Kiev is US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who told CNN last Sunday: "it’s unclear whether President Zelensky, particularly after what we saw on Friday, is ready to transition Ukraine to an end to this war, and to negotiate and have to compromise." Waltz then said that "we need a leader that can deal with us, eventually deal with the Russians, and end this war" - in remarks that hinted strongly at political transition soon.