Serhiy Leshchenko, a permanent adviser of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak, warned, “Russia is trying to occupy as much as they can until the inauguration day of [US President-elect] Donald Trump. [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s idea is to declare that everything he occupied before that moment is under his control, and should be part of Russian territory – which is totally unacceptable for Ukraine.”
Trump will assume office on January 20.
Leshchenko, in an interview with The Jerusalem Post on Monday, expressed fear that Russian attacks on Ukraine, ongoing since its invasion in 2022, will increase and intensify over the next few days and weeks.
“They are using the approach of total destruction on the territory,” he explained, adding that Russian forces are “trying to demolish everything – from civilian infrastructure – including bridges and electricity production facilities – to make life unbelievably difficult for Ukrainians.”
The Ukrainian Air Force said on Monday that its air defense downed 21 drones out of 43 launched by Russia in an overnight attack, targeting six regions across the country.
It said that 22 other drones were “lost.” Military analysts said Ukraine was increasingly using electronic warfare to redirect or spoof Russian drones.
Drone debris damaged residential houses in the eastern Kharkiv region and in the Odesa region in the south, regional officials said.
Leshchenko said that there have been electricity blackouts over the last few days – all while Ukrainians are braving the winter. “Putin’s goal is to create this lifestyle for Ukrainians, so he can say: If you want your life to be normal, you have to accept Russian ultimatum,” he said.
During his presidential campaign, Trump called Zelensky, “the greatest salesman in history” as he leaves with billions of dollars after every visit to the US.
Trump has said he wants to bring the war to a swift end. During his presidential campaign, Trump questioned the level of US involvement in the conflict, suggesting European allies should bear more of the financial burden.
US aid to Ukraine
On Monday, US President Joe Biden announced nearly $6 billion in additional military and budget assistance for Ukraine, as Biden uses his final weeks in office to surge aid to Kyiv before Trump takes power. Biden also announced $2.5 billion in additional security assistance for Ukraine.
Nearly three years into the war, Washington has committed billions of dollars in aid for Ukraine, but it is uncertain if the aid will continue at that pace under Trump.
Asked if he is fearful of the incoming Trump era, that he might exert pressure on Ukraine to cut a deal, Leshchenko said Kyiv is sitting tight and waiting to see how things unfold.
“We are waiting to see the proposal that will be presented by [Trump] after the inauguration,” he said.
He added, “Of course, Ukraine is open for negotiation – but agreeing to a negotiation does not mean that Ukraine should accept Russian ultimatum and that Ukraine should lose the territory without any other guarantees in the future.”
Demand for Ukraine to join NATO
Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials have stated their demand that Ukraine should join NATO under any deal that is signed.
“We need some guarantees that will stop Putin when he will accumulate more weapons – more power to attack Ukraine again,” Leshchenko explained. “It means that Ukraine should have the umbrella of NATO to make our army able to resist [aggression] in the future.”
When rebels advanced on Damascus, Syria, and topped Bashar al-Assad’s regime, analysts have said that Assad mistakenly assumed Russia, which has supported his regime for years, would back him now. While Moscow did grant asylum to the Assad family, it did not send military aid to fight the rebels.
Leshchenko said that this was because of Russia’s war in Ukraine. “If Ukraine wouldn’t have resisted, Russia would have been able to continue the Syria operation as well.”
Leshchenko echoed what many have thought and said, that Russia did not have the military might to assist Assad in fighting the rebels directly because its resources are being expended in Ukraine.
There have even been unconfirmed reports that Ukrainian intelligence helped the Syrian rebels with drone technology. Ukrainian sources have so far not issued a comment on these reports.
Many in Ukraine believe that now, with Russia no longer a player in Syria, Israel could diplomatically afford to publicly support Ukraine – at least more than it has. Israel’s stance that, “We cannot go and publicly support Ukraine, because Russia is our neighbor,” according to Leshchenko, would not exist.
“I believe the world should appreciate the help of Ukraine to get rid of one of the bloodiest dictators – Assad – because of Ukrainian resilience and resistance against Russia,” he concluded.
Reuters contributed to this report.