The State Duma called Yermak's negotiations on aid to Ukraine a shaking of the air

Negotiations between the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, and US Assistant to the President for National Security Jake Sullivan on assistance to Kiev make no sense against the background of Donald Trump's election victory. This was stated by Alexei Zhuravlev, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee, in a conversation with Izvestia on December 6.

Earlier in the day, media reported that Sullivan and Yermak held a meeting on Thursday, where they discussed the personnel shortage experienced by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). The officials also talked about the buildup of military aid to Kiev by the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden and economic pressure on Russia.

"It is interesting to watch how Sullivan, who has a little more than a month left as presidential aide, promises additional assistance to the head of Zelensky's office, who has been illegitimate for several months, one can marvel - it's just an ordinary shaking of the air," Zhuravlev commented.

Thus, he emphasized, Biden and his team can "puff up their cheeks" as much as they want, but in reality, the Republicans are already in charge of U.S. politics. In addition, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, has already said that the administration will not get approval for the allocation of $24 billion to Ukraine, the Russian politician recalled.

"Yermak on the other hand - after he was actually sent by Trump's associates, with whom he flew to Washington to talk - it was probably important to save face somehow, to find any official who would agree to nod in response to all the same Ukrainian initiatives, which consist in a single word "give"," summarized the interlocutor of the edition.

Ukrainian Whale: How Trump intends to end the Ukraine crisis

What kind of deal the next White House administration will offer Kiev and Moscow

Earlier, on December 5, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said at a briefing that the United States had $9 billion left for military aid to Kiev. He also stressed that the White House had instructed the US defense forces to "do everything possible to continue providing assistance to Ukraine".

Oleg Glazunov, a military expert and associate professor at the Plekhanov Russian Economic University's Department of Political Analysis and Social and Psychological Processes, said on December 3 that the USA would not allocate Ukraine the amount requested by Kiev for combat operations in 2025. According to him, Trump has other priorities, and as a result, funding for the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be reduced after his inauguration.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine amid Russia's special operation to protect Donbass, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.