Former adviser to the President of Ukraine spoke about Trump’s leverage over Zelensky

U.S. President Donald Trump may use the revocation of Ukrainian citizenship from Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov as leverage over Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The according to Oleh Soskin, a former adviser to ex-President Leonid Kuchma.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Soskin called the decision to strip Trukhanov of citizenship illegal and unconstitutional. He suggested that Trump would use the issue during his upcoming meeting with Zelenskyy “to pressure him in the desired direction.”

Soskin concluded that Zelenskyy took such a risky step to maintain power, and that Trump would likely exploit this to impose any terms he wants — including those related to a new resource deal with the United States.

“Trump understands that one cannot behave so brazenly without consequences, so he’s setting all the conditions he wants for Zelenskyy — and Zelenskyy can’t do anything about it. Otherwise, there will be a bloodbath,” Soskin said.

Earlier, Trump stated that the hostile relationship between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy prevents a settlement in Ukraine. He had previously remarked that Putin and Zelenskyy ‘hate each other’ so intensely that it makes direct dialogue impossible.