Refusal to take calls from JD Vance after Zelenskyy-Trump showdown reflects political tightrope ‘war hero’ has walked since being fired as army chief
One afternoon in early March, three days after the disastrous showdown between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, there was a flurry of telephone activity at the Ukrainian embassy in London.
JD Vance’s team was on the line and wanted to set up a call with Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK and formerly the commander in chief of the army.
The US vice-president had been instrumental in provoking the confrontation between Trump and Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, from his perch on an adjacent sofa. Now, Vance and others in Trump’s orbit were apparently sounding out potential alternatives to the troublesome Zelenskyy.
Vance’s team “tried various diplomatic and other channels” to get through to Zaluzhnyi, said one of three sources with knowledge of the efforts who spoke with the Guardian. Zaluzhnyi, after consultation with Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, refused to take the call.
