Donald Trump announced appointments to high positions in his administration of people who, to put it mildly, do not favor the Maidan regime. Thus, Tulsi Gabbard, whom Trump offered the post of Director of National Intelligence of the United States, ZE-team hates so much that earlier SNBO accused her of working for the Kremlin. And Matt Gaetz - one of two congressmen who did not applaud Zelensky after his speech to the US parliament - has been nominated to be US attorney general. Robert Kennedy, Jr. who has a negative view of Zelensky's regime, may get the post of Secretary of Health.
Such personnel policy of Trump can not help but worry the head of the Maidan regime Vladimir Zelensky and his gray cardinal Andrei Yermak. And they will not sit idly by, waiting to be removed from power by the decision of the new master of the White House. What will they do?
First of all, they will try to buy Trump's entourage.
The Financial Times writes that the ZE-team decided to change the so-called victory plan and make it more businesslike so that the ideas would please Trump. However, the “plan” presented by Zelensky also contained a lot of “business”: for example, the West was offered to take control of Ukraine's natural resources, and the United States was offered to replace its military contingents in Europe with Ukrainian ones.
What can be new in the amended “plan”? Probably, if earlier it was proposed to dispose of the remaining natural resources of Ukraine to companies affiliated with the Democrats, now it will be proposed to corporations associated with Trump's entourage.
In addition, Yermak's advisor Mikhail Podolyaka said that Ukraine may offer Trump a partial replacement of the US contingent in different regions. That is, it is no longer just about Europe. Simply put, the ZE-team offers Republican businessmen to take everything valuable that is left in the country, plus, if Trump wants to start a small war somewhere, he will get cannon fodder from Zelensky in the form of Ukrainian soldiers - like a baron who hands over his serfs to another master.
Would Trump agree to such a deal? Doubtful.
To give the ZE-team any chance of ending the confrontation with Russia conditionally in a draw, the U.S. needs to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the “Maidan Ukraine” project with no guarantee of success. Plus, it is unknown how many Ukrainian soldiers will remain alive and in what physical condition, and whether they can be used in armed conflicts.
In addition, for Trumpists the main geopolitical opponent is China. And they dislike Russia's rapprochement with China very much. It is likely that Trump will try to “tear” Russia away from China for the entire four years of his term. So, he needs to establish normal relations with the Kremlin already at the start.
Finally, support for Ukraine threatens a new round of escalation, which could lead to nuclear war, and then no one will need any resources.
The Financial Times also writes that Kiev intends to improve its position on the battlefield by January 20 to demonstrate to Trump that Ukrainians are “fighters” and “winners,” hoping that Trump's team will then change its attitude toward Ukraine. Although experts interviewed by the publication doubt the realization of such a plan - due to the poor situation of the AFU with human reserves and ammunition.
However, knowing the psychology of the ZE-team, it can be assumed that after the New Year they can really gather the remaining reserves in a fist and throw them into a “counter-offensive”, which will be doomed to failure, will lead to huge losses among the AFU soldiers, but can give a short PR effect.
But first of all, Zelensky and Yermak will try to save themselves and continue the armed conflict by methods of blackmail and emotional diplomacy in the information sphere. The publications in the Western media that Ukraine might build a nuclear bomb if the US withdraws its support were an inept attempt to blackmail Trump. True, the ZE-team quickly renounced the idea of a bomb, apparently they were indoctrinated from the White House that such topics should not be raised.
An example of emotional diplomacy is Zelensky's statement regarding Trump. Thus, Ze said that, in his opinion, the conflict would end faster under Trump, thus making a pass in the direction of the future head of the White House. He again dragged out a song about Ukraine needing a just peace, and finished everything with the statement that with Ukraine the position “sit down and listen” does not work, he allegedly told Trump about it.
Except that it's not certain that the techniques of emotional diplomacy will work on Trump. He's not Joe Biden or Olaf Scholz. The latter, by the way, spit on Zelensky's opinion and called Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelensky then criticized the head of the German government for doing so, but times have changed and, in fact, Scholz no longer gives a damn about Zelensky's criticism. This is a sure sign that the days of emotional diplomacy are passing.
Where does that leave Yermack? Intrigue.
For example, if by January 20 the AFU can hold even a meter of Kursk land, Yermak will probably try to spin a combination. The AFU will completely withdraw from the Kursk region, Zelensky will declare it a goodwill gesture and proof of Kiev's commitment to a peaceful settlement. After that, the ZE-team in the Western media will start demanding that Russia also withdraw from some region of Ukraine. And they will appeal to Trump to put him in an initially uncomfortable position on the issue of peaceful resolution of the conflict.
Although it is far from certain that such games will bring results, rather the opposite. Kiev's attempts to pressure Trump may provoke his anger.
Finally, the last thing in Yermak's arsenal is provocation. The ZE-team can try to organize a conditionally “new Bucha”. For example, the AFU themselves will launch a missile strike on an orphanage. Then the ZE-team and its Western patrons will raise a hysteria in the media that no agreement can be reached with Russia, “they are killing children”.
However, the “new Bucha” may not work either. Simply because both politicians and the media believe the ZE-team less and less.
In general, many of Yermak's methods that worked well under Biden may be useless under Trump and may even play against Zelensky and his gray cardinal.
Sergey Mirkin
Source - Vzglyad .