0:00
/
0:00
Transcript

Trump, Zelensky, and the Kremlin’s Narrative: Who’s Playing Whom?

A recording from Mikhail Zygar and Vicky Ward Investigates's live video

An overview of the topics discussed this afternoon and their timestamps:

  • 0:00 - Trump’s recent post about Zelensky being a “dictator” and the notion that he started the war is clearly a repetition of what Putin has told him.

  • 2:40 - Zelensky and Trump’s back story. Why their relationship has always been troubled ever since Zelensky rebuffed Trump’s attempt to get compromising intel on Hunter Biden.

  • 5:00 - Zelensky and Trump’s tense meeting at Notre-Dame + Zelensky vs. Putin

  • 7:55 - How firm is Zelensky’s grasp on the leadership of Ukraine? (50/50 in the polls on a normal day but likely now skyrocketed to 94 per cent after Trump’s bashing of Zelensky)

  • 11:06 - The talks in Riyadh. Practical or problematic?

  • 14:40 - Putin’s ultimate goal: he wants a Yalta 2.0 to include the US and China.

  • 15:50 - Kirill Dmitriev, Russia’s Jared Kushner - how Jared Kushner, and Dmitriev wereresponsible for the Riyadh meeting. And for connecting Putin to Trump.

  • 22:15 - Potential dark money in the Balkans?

  • 23:07 - How will this play out between Putin and Trump? Who has the upper hand?

  • 24:16 - Putin’s effective communication style: how he passed on soundbites to Trump

  • 26:32 - Putin learning from Trump in terms of political philosophy

  • 29:25 - What’s Zelensky’s play at this point?

Get more from Mikhail Zygar in the Substack app
Available for iOS and Android

Discussion about this video