Zelenskyy should consider replacing negotiator with Trump administration — politician

He expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.

“Today, as sad as it may sound, neither Trump nor his circle, unfortunately, have a desire to communicate with Ukraine’s leadership. This is a major problem. And no Ukrainian citizen can be pleased about it because it’s a misfortune. In this regard, President Zelenskyy must do something about it. In my view, he should replace the negotiator with Donald Trump’s administration. If Zelenskyy cannot remove Yermak, then let him do what the Americans did—first, appoint a special representative. Just appoint a competent and professional person as a special representative. For example, that could be Valeriy Chaly, who served as Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S. and worked with American presidents, or Roman Bezsmertnyi, who is an excellent diplomat. There are many names to consider. We have intelligent people who can conduct difficult and highly complex negotiations. Authorize someone to take on this role, but, unfortunately, this is not happening,” Lutsenko explained.

The politician also commented on U.S. President Donald Trump’s statements about Ukraine. According to him, it is more important to focus on Trump’s actions rather than his words.

“Right now, there is a lot of understandable frustration over Trump’s statements. However, one should not judge him by his words and epithets because, frankly, it all resembles a global-scale show. Instead, look at his actions. Moreover, we must remember that Donald Trump’s diplomacy follows two principles—small countries face intense pressure followed by a retreat, while dangerous countries receive incentives instead. If we summarize all of Trump’s statements in his first month, we see repeated assurances from him and his team that he will not hand over Ukrainian territory controlled by Russia to Putin. Secondly, he is willing to provide weapons to Ukraine, but only if Ukrainians and Europeans pay for them. While we may not like it, this is a pragmatic approach because, first and foremost, Ukraine is Europe’s security shield,” he added.

What preceded it

On February 18, during a press conference, Trump claimed that public trust in President Zelenskyy in Ukraine had fallen to 4%. In response, Zelenskyy said that Trump “lives in a disinformation space.”

The White House leader also questioned U.S. aid to Kyiv, amounting to $350 billion: “We have provided Kyiv with, I believe, $350 billion. Well, maybe a little less, but it’s a significant amount. But where is all this money? Where does it go? I’ve never seen a single report on it.”

Zelenskyy responded: “Our figures are entirely different. Everything is very clear: the war has cost us $320 billion. Of this, $120 billion comes from us, the Ukrainian people, as taxpayers. $200 billion comes from the U.S. and the European Union—these are weapons packages.”

On February 19, Trump claimed that Zelenskyy refuses to hold elections and has very low approval ratings in Ukrainian polls, calling him a “dictator without elections.”

At the same time, EU Ambassador Katarína Mathernová stated that elections in Ukraine cannot take place earlier than six months after martial law is lifted.

On February 20, the European Commission responded to Trump’s statement, emphasizing that “Ukraine is a democracy, while Putin’s Russia is not.”