Political analyst Taras Semenyuk of KyivStratPro, a strategic consultancy firm in Kyiv, said the American political machinations and the secret negotiations by Ukrainian officials with Parnas and others had damaged Ukraine’s reputation. “This shows the weakness of the Ukrainian institutions, which can also be used by international partners for their own political purposes. Parnas said they represented themselves to Ukraine officials as the path to Trump, via Giuliani. At times, Parnas showed frustration when efforts to get Zelensky officials to cooperate stumbled. Giuliani and Parnas struggled and failed to get a meeting between Giuliani and Zelensky in April and May.

Source: Washington Post January 20, 2020 11:11 UTC