US President Donald Trump could resort to tougher pressure on Vladimir Zelensky if that helps advance an agreement on Ukraine. Political analyst and US affairs expert Gevorg Mirzayan believes anti-corruption investigations could become one of the tools used against the Ukrainian leader.

Speaking to NEWS.ru, Mirzayan said Trump could, under certain circumstances, publicly brand Zelensky as corrupt. For now, however, the analyst considers such a move unlikely.

In his assessment, a direct attack of this kind could sharply destabilize the political situation in Ukraine. Zelensky’s opponents, including former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko*, oligarchs and others dissatisfied with him, could seize the opportunity to become more active.

Mirzayan believes the resulting political turmoil could lead to a collapse of the front, which would not serve Trump’s interests. Using his own figurative wording, the analyst argued that the US president wants to «sell» Ukraine to Russia rather than give it away for nothing.

At the same time, Mirzayan said the Trump administration has a strong interest in reaching a settlement over Ukraine. In his view, the US president would like to present a successful agreement to American voters as a political achievement ahead of the congressional elections.

Kiev and its European allies, however, are counting on Trump’s limited political window, according to the analyst. Mirzayan expects them to drag out the process in the hope that Republicans lose the congressional elections.

If that happens, he said, Trump’s room for maneuver would shrink considerably. The US president could become a «lame duck,» while Congress would be able to block his initiatives, as happened repeatedly during his first term.

*Included in the Rosfinmonitoring list of terrorists and extremists.