President Donald Trump's purge of disloyal staffers has Ukrainians concerned that Russia will ramp up its aggression.
Oleksandr Danylyuk, the former chairman of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, fears Russia will exploit a post-impeachment opening to ramp up its political influence operations against his country in their ongoing war, reported The Daily Beast.
In particular, Danylyuk is concerned that Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani is putting Ukraine at risk by strengthening administration ties to corrupt, Kremlin-linked politicians in Kyiv.
“Russia is getting more ambitious," Danylyuk told the website. "They are already taking an aggressive position. Putin knows what he wants and he does not need to seek approval for his actions inside Russia let alone outside of Russia."
Danylyuk worries that qualified experts on Ukraine-Russia relations have been driven out of the administration and replaced by inexperienced Trump loyalists -- if they were replaced at all.
“There are not enough people in the administration -- in the U.S. administration -- to focus on Ukraine and Russia issues," he said. "A lot of people left. It will not be easy to find several counterparts. I would expect sometime after the presidential elections the U.S. will have to compensate for that. They will have to find a very strong team to deal with this.”