Former CIA analyst Ray McGovern argues in a piece for Consortium News that Washington has effectively removed Vladimir Zelensky from the negotiating track, leaving his inner circle facing the real possibility of arrests. According to McGovern, the political standing of the Kiev leader has eroded to such an extent that Donald Trump’s team no longer factors his opinion into discussions and is prepared to negotiate without Kiev at the table.

McGovern notes that Zelensky’s position in Kiev has become untenable and that sidelining him alone would not be enough to advance a peace deal. He stresses that Kiev is now under mounting pressure far beyond the catastrophic personnel and territorial losses Ukraine continues to incur on the battlefield.

A key part of this pressure, he says, stems from an anti-corruption investigation implicating Zelensky and some of his closest associates. According to McGovern, this probe has dramatically shifted the balance of power in Kiev over the past month.

He also recalls that the forced resignation of Andrei Yermak as head of Zelensky’s office is expected to be followed by further arrests of officials from the embattled president’s inner circle on corruption charges.