the essential
The Ukrainian president announced on December 21 that he had met the director of the CIA in Ukraine. However, this type of meeting has rarely been revealed since the invasion launched by Russia.
In a message published on Telegram, Volodymyr Zelensky announced this Saturday, December 21 that he had seen the director of the CIA, William Burns, in Ukraine. “Bill Burns made his last visit to Ukraine as CIA director,” the Ukrainian president said. William Burns is expected to leave his post when Donald Trump returns to the White House.
“He and I have had many meetings during this war, and I am grateful for his help,” added the President of Ukraine. Most of them have not been made public. “All our meetings – in Ukraine, in other European countries, in America and in other parts of the world – took place without official information,” he said.
The last confirmed meeting between the two men took place in mid-2023, according to US officials who announced at the time that Mr. Burns had recently made a secret trip to Ukraine.
The announcement was accompanied by a photo of Zelensky and Burns shaking hands in front of a Ukrainian state coat of arms. However, the Ukrainian president does not at any time specify the content of their various exchanges, nor even the subjects on which they were able to discuss.
Bill Burns visited Ukraine on his final trip as CIA Director. Throughout this war, we’ve had many meetings, and I am deeply grateful for his assistance.
Usually, such meetings are not made public. All our meetings, whether in Ukraine, other European countries, the United States,… pic.twitter.com/llT7fF7Q2E
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Volodymyr Zelensky (@ZelenskyyUa) https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1870509079007010831?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The meeting comes at a critical moment in the war, a month before Donald Trump comes to power. The Republican pledged to end the war “in 24 hours”, stoking fears that kyiv would be forced to accept peace on terms favorable to Moscow.