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POLITICO

This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Kyle Cheney on politico.com on January 25, 2020.
US President Donald Trump wondered how long Ukraine would survive in a fight against Russia, according to an audio recording from a private dinner in which he also calls for the summary dismissal of then-US ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.
A recording of the April 30, 2018, dinner was released Saturday by a lawyer for Lev Parnas, an indicted associate of Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Parnas was one of the attendees at the dinner, which was held at the Trump Hotel in Washington DC.
“Think Russia ever goes in and gets Ukraine?” Trump asks one companion.
“They would love to but they’re scared of you,” someone replies.
About halfway through the 90-minute conversation, one of the participants mentions Yovanovitch as a Democratic holdover and alleges she was badmouthing Trump to embassy staff in Kiev.
“She’s walking around telling everybody he’s going to be impeached,” one dinner participant says.
Trump quickly responds, “She’ll be gone tomorrow.” He later says.
“Get rid of her. Get her out tomorrow. I don’t care. Take her out. Do it.”
Yovanovitch was recalled a year later and was a witness in the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry, contending she was removed because she was an obstacle to Trump’s effort to get Ukraine to investigate his domestic political rivals. She denied speaking badly of Trump while at the embassy in Kiev.

It’s unclear if the recording will become relevant to Trump’s impeachment trial. It appears to offer ammunition to both sides, confirming Trump’s proximity to Giuliani associates who later orchestrated the smear campaign that led to Yovanovitch’s removal. But it also features Trump praising Ukrainians pushing back against Russian aggression.
In the recording, Trump hails Ukrainians as “great fighters”.
‘Alarming texts’ suggest US ambassador was being tracked in Ukraine before Trump fired her
“They’ve been fighting for so long they don’t know what to do without fighting,” he says.
He separately asked his companion how long Ukraine would last “in a fight with Russia”.
“Without us, not very long,” someone replies.
“Without us,” Trump echoes.
Trump also asks whether Ukraine felt they were “going to be OK” in their conflict with Russia.
“They feel they’re going to be OK if you support them,” comes the reply.

“It’s always us that has to support everyone,” Trump says, before complaining that European nations weren’t sharing enough of the burden.
The question of burden sharing was a feature of Trump’s defence Saturday in his impeachment trial.
Trump’s lawyer emphasised that one reason Trump paused aid to Ukraine was because of a complaint about whether Europe contributed enough to the effort to push back against Russian aggression.
Donald Trump called ex-Ukraine envoy Marie Yovanovitch ‘bad news’. Now she’s defying him to testify at impeachment inquiry
Ukraine has been in an active war with Russia since 2014, when Moscow sent troops to occupy Crimea. The incursion ignited years of steadily climbing tension between Russia and the West, a period marked by increasing Russian interference in US and European elections.
Democrats say that is a flimsy excuse for what they see as a naked effort to pressure Ukraine – which is dependent on US support – to hurt his political rivals.
Much of the dinner was focused on discussions of the energy industry, legalising marijuana and armchair politics.

Trump repeats familiar refrains attacking Democrats, referring twice to the “deep state” – a derisive attack on federal agencies he has accused of working against him – and suggests Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton might have fared better against him in 2016 if she named Senator Bernie Sanders as her running mate.
There were discussions of Kanye West, millennials and how Republicans would fare in the 2018 midterms – with Trump predicting they’d do better than expected.
The dinner participants also discuss weakening Europe’s dependence on Russian energy.
At one point, a dinner companion notes that if the US can export LNG to Europe, “Putin’s done”.
Trump also criticises Germany for a pipeline deal with Russia. “And we’re supposed to be fighting Russia,” he says, complaining that the US foots “90 per cent of the cost of Nato.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/25/trump-yovanovitch-ukraine-recording-104590


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Trump wondered how long Ukraine could last in fight with Russia, recording shows

US President Donald Trump hailed Ukrainians as ‘great fighters’. File photo: AFP

This undated image released by the House Judiciary Committee from documents provided by Lev Parnas to the committee in the impeachment probe against President Donald Trump, shows a photo of Lev Parnas with Trump in Florida. Parnas, a close associate of Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani is claiming Trump was directly involved in the effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden. Trump on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020, repeated denials that he is acquainted with Parnas, despite numerous photos that have emerged of the two men together. (House Judiciary Committee via AP)

President Donald Trump was recorded during a private meeting in April 2018 saying that the U.S. should "get rid of" then-U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch (pictured), according to a video provided by an attorney for Lev Parnas, an associate of the president's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. (Kirk McKoy/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

File-This Aug. 24, 2017, file photo shows Ukrainian soldiers marching along main Khreshchatyk Street during a military parade to celebrate Independence Day in Kiev, Ukraine. The Trump administration has approved a plan to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine, including Javelin anti-tank missiles. That's according to several U.S. officials who weren't authorized to discuss the decision publicly and demanded anonymity Friday, Dec. 22, 2017. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)

US President Donald Trump. File photo: EPA

‘Alarming texts’ suggest US ambassador was being tracked in Ukraine before Trump fired her

Former US ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. Photo: AP

FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian-American businessman Lev Parnas, an associate of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, exits after a bail hearing at the Manhattan Federal Court in New York, U.S., December 17, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - RC28XD91277U/File Photo

Robert F. Hyde, left, and President Donald Trump. National attention is on Hyde, whose WhatsApp messages with Lev Parnas seem to reflect an attempt to track ex-Ukraine ambassador Marie Yovanovitch's movements. (Hydeforcongress.com/TNS)

Donald Trump’s ‘intimidating’ attack on impeachment witness Marie Yovanovitch during testimony

US President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at the Monroe Civic Centre in Louisiana on November 6. Photo: AFP

A demonstrator holds a sign outside Longworth House Office Building, where former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch is testifying to the House Intelligence Committee, Friday, Nov. 15, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington, in the second public impeachment hearing of President Donald Trump's efforts to tie U.S. aid for Ukraine to investigations of his political opponents. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Senator Adam Schiff (L) and House Intelligence Committee Rep. Devin Nunes(R-CA) look on during the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence impeachment inquiry, with former US ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, into US President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill on November 15, 2019 in Washington DC. - Public impeachment hearings resumed Friday with the testimony of Yovanovitch, who says she was ousted because the Trump administration believed she would not go along with plans to pressure Ukraine to investigate Democrat Joe Biden, a potential Trump White House rival in 2020. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)

Former US ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testifies before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill on Friday. Photo: AP

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One of the tape’s participants alleges Marie Yovanovitch was badmouthing Donald Trump to embassy staff in Kiev



One of the tape’s participants alleges Marie Yovanovitch was badmouthing Donald Trump to embassy staff in Kiev.


.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Politico | Trump wondered how long Ukraine could last in fight with Russia, recording shows

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} One of the tape’s participants alleges Marie Yovanovitch was badmouthing Donald Trump to embassy staff in Kiev

Politico | Trump wondered how long Ukraine could last in fight with Russia, recording shows

One of the tape’s participants alleges Marie Yovanovitch was badmouthing Donald Trump to embassy staff in Kiev