‘Holding Kursk and waiting for January’ As a new Trump term approaches, Ukrainian officials are scrambling to establish ties with his incoming administration
As Ukraine braces for Donald Trump’s return to the White House, President Volodymyr Zelensky and his team face a daunting task: recalibrating their approach to U.S.-Ukraine relations under an administration known for its unpredictability. According to Ukrainska Pravda, which cites sources within Ukraine’s diplomatic and political circles, efforts to establish ties with Trump’s inner circle are already underway. Yet conflicting signals from those around Trump are making the process anything but straightforward.
As Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House, Ukrainian officials are working behind the scenes to build ties with his incoming administration, sources in Ukrainian political and diplomatic circles told Ukrainska Pravda.
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office has reportedly managed to “open certain lines of communication” with Richard Grenell, Trump’s former ambassador to Germany who was said to be in the running for Secretary of State (Trump ultimately appointed Marco Rubio to the position). According to Ukrainska Pravda, Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, began engaging with Grenell following a meeting between Trump and Zelensky in September.
Conflicting signals from Trump’s circle, however, are complicating Ukrainian officials’ attempts to connect with the incoming administration. “Some claim Trump still holds a grudge against Zelensky and Yermak for not fully supporting him during the 2020 impeachment proceedings,” one Ukrainian official told Ukrainska Pravda. “But Trump himself publicly thanked our people back then for their stance. Others tell us there won’t be any support, while Trump says everything will be fine, that he won’t abandon us. It feels like they’re deliberately sowing ambiguity.”
Other sources contend that Ukraine is hardly a priority for Trump. “In Ukraine, there’s this perception that Trump wakes up and goes to bed thinking about us. That’s a fantasy. Right now, he’s 90 percent focused on assembling his cabinet. The remaining 10 percent is divided between issues like the border, immigration, abortion, China — and only then, somewhere down the list, Ukraine,” said a Ukrainian diplomat.
Ukrainska Pravda points out that media reports about Trump’s inner circle reflect this uncertainty. Since winning the election, Trump has yet to make any significant statements about ending the Russia-Ukraine war or to present details of a concrete peace plan.
A Ukrainian politician with “contacts in Trump’s headquarters” told journalists that the U.S. President-elect currently “doesn’t have any kind of plan yet” for the war. Trump has only recently gained access to classified information and documents about the conflict, the source said. “All this information significantly reshapes one’s understanding of the real situation. So, if there was a plan, it will now need to be adjusted to reality. But there’s no catastrophe looming yet,” the politician added.
Another source close to Zelensky’s team said Trump’s advisors expect Ukraine to propose a “realistic” scenario for ending the war. “Right now, there’s no point in Ukraine pressuring Trump, since he doesn’t have a solution. And the more we push, the faster we could end up with a solution we don’t like at all,” cautioned a Ukrainian diplomat.
Another diplomatic source told Ukrainska Pravda that Ukraine’s leadership should prioritize maintaining a pro-Ukraine majority in both chambers of Congress. “Bipartisanship is our mantra,” this person said. “We need to give our true allies time to present our perspective to Trump and work to bring him over to Ukraine’s side.”
Meanwhile, sources who have spoken with Trump’s team told Ukrainska Pravda that a group of ultraconservative politicians vying for leadership within the MAGA movement is seeking to influence the president-elect. This group is said to include Donald Trump Jr. and Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, who frequently comments on the Russia-Ukraine war.
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“Trump will ultimately make the decisions. But the Republican Party is not just Trump, and it’s certainly not just his ‘young team.’ Traditional party members are uneasy with figures like Musk, and conflicts could arise — especially given the razor-thin Republican majority in both the Senate and the House, where every vote counts. That means Trump will have to listen to the party’s demands,” a source in Ukraine’s diplomatic circles explained. Another source added that Ukraine’s allies among Republicans are keeping a low profile until Trump has finalized his team, “so as not to draw hate.”
“If you talk to Americans, the main takeaway is that we’re starting from scratch. Our priority right now is to avoid missteps and not apply too much pressure,” said a Kyiv official. “There are many in Trump’s circle who are, let’s say, not our allies. We need to get through the winter and wait for the inauguration, and then talk about specifics.”
“We may not see eye to eye with the new Trump administration, but Ukraine can’t force Russia to the negotiating table on its own. We lack the leverage to scare them or force them to back down. Without Trump, nothing will move forward. So, for now, we’re staying the course, holding Kursk, and waiting for January,” a source close to Zelensky’s team added.
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