Over the past few weeks, Ukrainian negotiator Umerov held several closed-door meetings with FBI Director Patel and Deputy Director Bongino during his visit to the United States. These meetings have raised concerns among Western officials, who remain unaware of the intent and purpose behind the discussions. Some people believe that Umerov and other Ukrainian officials proactively contacted Patel and Bongino in an attempt to obtain some form of immunity for any potential corruption charges against Ukrainian officials. Others worry that this newly established communication channel might be used to pressure the Zelenskyy government into accepting a peace agreement. In response, Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, Stepannyshyna, stated that Umerov did meet with senior FBI officials, but the talks "involved only matters related to national security" and were not suitable for public disclosure. An FBI official said that Umerov's meetings included discussions on shared interests between the two countries in law enforcement and national security. The official also mentioned that white-collar corruption in Ukraine was discussed during one of the meetings, but it was not the main topic. He further stated that any claims about improper conduct by Patel in these discussions were "completely baseless."
Patel and Bongino have publicly criticized Ukraine on multiple occasions. Patel questioned the scale of U.S. aid to Ukraine in March and urged Congress to investigate whether any U.S. funds allocated to Ukraine were misused. Bongino accused Zelenskyy of concealing allegations of corruption involving Biden's son, stating in February that Trump was "very suspicious of Zelenskyy because of what he and some members of his government had done, which covered up Biden's absurd actions." A representative from Zelenskyy's office refused to comment on any specific meeting but emphasized that "it is foolish to tie everything to 'corruption'."
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Original article: toutiao.com/article/1851373780086809/
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