Stuck in the Middle with Ukraine

Stuck in the Middle with Ukraine

As the U.S. media focuses on details of President Trump's dealings with the newly elected President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, GZERO World with Ian Bremmer is taking a deep dive into the former Soviet republic itself. Why is corruption so rampant in Ukraine, and why have so many American business and political leaders been drawn to it? In this episode, we break down the anatomy of the infamous phone call between Trump and Zelensky, explain to viewers who the Ukrainian president is and how he became a central focus of the impeachment inquiry, and discuss the unprecedented political environment for career diplomats in Washington, people who Polyakova says have been "thrown under the bus" by the Trump administration. All this, plus a close examination of Hunter Biden's questionable board position at Burisma, and how it differs from Paul Manafort's criminal actions in Ukraine.

More from GZERO Media

Argentine President Javier Milei speaks to the media while standing on a vehicle with lawmaker Jose Luis Espert during a La Libertad Avanza rally ahead of legislative elections on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on August 27, 2025.
REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian

The campaign for Argentina’s legislative election officially launched this week, but it couldn’t have gone worse for President Javier Milei.

US President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., attend a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., USA, on August 26, 2025.
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

The Trump administration is divided over its approach to Venezuela, according to Venezuelan journalist Tony Frangie Mawad.

A Ukrainian soldier is seen at a checkpoint at the road near a Crimea region border March 9, 2014. Russian forces tightened their grip on Crimea on Sunday despite a U.S. warning to Moscow that annexing the southern Ukrainian region would close the door to diplomacy in a tense East-West standoff.
REUTERS/Viktor Gurniak

60: Ukraine will allow men aged 18–22 to leave the country, easing a wartime ban that kept males under 60 from crossing the border.