Top Trump allies in talks with Zelensky's political opposition, considering early elections

(photo credit: UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/REUTERS)

Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff, conservative media figure Tucker Carlson, and Donald Trump Jr. have been in talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's political opposition, Politico reported on Wednesday.

The high-ranking Trump allies have been speaking with Ukrainian opposition leader and former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko as well as senior members of ex-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's party, Politico reported, citing three Ukrainian parliamentarians and a Republican foreign policy expert.

The talks centered around potentially triggering a presidential election in Ukraine. The country has delayed elections in accordance with its constitution because Kyiv has instated martial law due to the ongoing conflict within its borders. 

The Trump administration believes that Zelensky would lose in a potential election because of war fatigue in the country. The US president previously called the Ukrainian president a “dictator without elections” who “has done a terrible job," echoing Kremlin talking points.