Why Zelensky Needs Donald Trump

A high-level Ukrainian delegation has arrived in the U.S. seeking to bolster and expand American support for Kyiv as the country struggles to make a decisive breakthrough against Russian forces still occupying swathes of its internationally recognized territory. And one man who could prove key is Donald Trump.

Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's office and considered the leader's right-hand man, is part of the delegation, which is being led by Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. Key issues for the group, Yermak wrote on Telegram, will be "the president's Peace Formula, strengthening the defense of Ukraine, comprehensive deepening of cooperation and many important topics."

Yermak and his Ukrainian colleagues are set for talks with a raft of influential groups and individuals in D.C. as Kyiv looks to unblock an aid package held up by a group of congressional Republicans increasingly questioning the value of continued American support for Ukraine.

"I thank our partners for supporting Ukraine," Yermak wrote on Telegram. "Together we are strong. Only forward."

But not everyone on the GOP side is on board. Among the party's presidential candidates in particular, still led by Trump with the field shaped by his characteristic pugnacity, there is a clear push to downgrade support for Ukraine and hammer President Joe Biden for his resolute backing for Kyiv. A minority of House and Senate Republican lawmakers are following suit.

Zelensky has sought to ease his Trump problem, and address remarks from the former president suggesting that Ukraine should cede territory and/or autonomy to Russia in pursuit of an immediate peace.

Trump could prove key in softening Republican opposition to Ukraine aid. According to Strana.UA, citing an anonymous source close to the president's office, this week's delegation "is trying to organize a direct conversation between Trump and Zelensky."

Newsweek has contacted Zelensky's office and the Trump campaign by email to request comment.

Access to Strana.UA is limited in Ukraine, the outlet having repeatedly been accused of publishing Russian disinformation and its editor Ihor Hushva having lived in exile since 2018, when Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council imposed sanctions on him and his companies.

"I doubt that Strana has such sources; it might be a Russian fake with a view to cause distrust between Ukraine and the U.S. presidential administration," Oleksandr Merezhko, a member of Ukraine's parliament representing Zelensky's Servant of the People party, told Newsweek.

"As for contact with Trump, to me it's quite risky," Merezhko—who is also the chair of the parliament's foreign affairs committee—added. "We might lose the wholehearted support of the Democrats. Yet, on the other hand, there is nothing bad in communicating with 'Trumpists' in Congress. It would be OK to try to reach out to them and have a dialogue with them."

Winning Trump's support—or even convincing him to temper his isolationist rhetoric on Ukraine—would be a big win for Kyiv. One congressional staffer, who did not wish to be named as they were not authorized to comment publicly, told Newsweek such a step by the Yermak team "seems plausible and wise."

Zelensky's outreach may be complicated by the fact that Ukraine was at the heart of the former president's first impeachment. Last week, Trump refused an invitation to visit Kyiv.

"I have great respect for President Zelensky, but think it would be inappropriate to go to Ukraine at this time," Trump said. "The Biden administration is currently dealing with him, and I would not want to create a conflict of interest."

Where Trump goes, much of the GOP looks set to follow.

"There aren't that many issues right now that are worth fighting him on," veteran GOP pollster Neil Newhouse told Newsweek of Trump.

"To some extent, he's got control of the Republican Party," said Newhouse, the co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies and the former lead pollster for the presidential campaigns of Sens. Mitt Romney and John McCain.