Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, is due to meet with Ukraine’s president in Kiev this Thursday as part of a five-country tour that includes neighbouring Belarus.

The trip is significant on account of it being the first official contact a senior Trump official has made with Ukraine since the impeachment inquiry began in September. But it takes on additional piquancy on the back of scandal In Washington.

On Friday, Mr Pompeo was reported to have shouted at an NPR journalist after she questioned him on Ukraine. He is then alleged to have snapped: “Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?” An expletive is said to have been used somewhere in that sentence. A day later, the secretary of state accused the journalist of lying, but did not actually dispute the substance of what she reported.

For Ukraine, the views of a man considered to be Mr Trump’s closest lieutenant are not entirely unexpected. But they come as a body blow to the Ukrainian leadership, which has spent much of the last four months contorting itself to accommodate the Trump administration in the impeachment scandal.

Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, is one of several of the country’s officials to have denied that Mr Trump offered an explicit “quid pro quo” – an investigation into rival Joe Biden in exchange for military aid – even though evidence suggests the contrary. In a now infamous telephone call on 25 July, Mr Trump asked Mr Zelensky to “do us a favour”, before mentioning the desirability of investigating a bogus conspiracy theory involving Mr Biden and Burisma, the Ukrainian gas company that employed Mr Biden’s son from 2014.

Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Show all 26 1 /26 Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Donald Trump Accused of abusing his office by pressing the Ukrainian president in a July phone call to help dig up dirt on Joe Biden, who may be his Democratic rival in the 2020 election. He also believes that Hillary Clinton’s deleted emails - a key factor in the 2016 election - may be in Ukraine, although it is not clear why. EPA Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal The Whistleblower Believed to be a CIA agent who spent time at the White House, his complaint was largely based on second and third-hand accounts from worried White House staff. Although this is not unusual for such complaints, Trump and his supporters have seized on it to imply that his information is not reliable. Expected to give evidence to Congress voluntarily and in secret. Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal The Second Whistleblower The lawyer for the first intelligence whistleblower is also representing a second whistleblower regarding the President's actions. Attorney Mark Zaid said that he and other lawyers on his team are now representing the second person, who is said to work in the intelligence community and has first-hand knowledge that supports claims made by the first whistleblower and has spoken to the intelligence community's inspector general. The second whistleblower has not yet filed their own complaint, but does not need to to be considered an official whistleblower. Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Rudy Giuliani Former mayor of New York, whose management of the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001 won him worldwide praise. As Trump’s personal attorney he has been trying to find compromising material about the president’s enemies in Ukraine in what some have termed a “shadow” foreign policy. In a series of eccentric TV appearances he has claimed that the US state department asked him to get involved. Giuliani insists that he is fighting corruption on Trump’s behalf and has called himself a “hero”. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Volodymyr Zelensky The newly elected Ukrainian president - a former comic actor best known for playing a man who becomes president by accident - is seen frantically agreeing with Trump in the partial transcript of their July phone call released by the White House. With a Russian-backed insurgency in the east of his country, and the Crimea region seized by Vladimir Putin in 2014, Zelensky will have been eager to please his American counterpart, who had suspended vital military aid before their phone conversation. He says there was no pressure on him from Trump to do him the “favour” he was asked for. Zelensky appeared at an awkward press conference with Trump in New York during the United Nations general assembly, looking particularly uncomfortable when the American suggested he take part in talks with Putin. AFP/Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Mike Pence The vice-president was not on the controversial July call to the Ukrainian president but did get a read-out later. However, Trump announced that Pence had had “one or two” phone conversations of a similar nature, dragging him into the crisis. Pence himself denies any knowledge of any wrongdoing and has insisted that there is no issue with Trump’s actions. It has been speculated that Trump involved Pence as an insurance policy - if both are removed from power the presidency would go to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, something no Republican would allow. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Rick Perry Trump reportedly told a meeting of Republicans that he made the controversial call to the Ukrainian president at the urging of his own energy secretary, Rick Perry, and that he didn’t even want to. The president apparently said that Perry wanted him to talk about liquefied natural gas - although there is no mention of it in the partial transcript of the phone call released by the White House. It is thought that Perry will step down from his role at the end of the year. Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Joe Biden The former vice-president is one of the frontrunners to win the Democratic nomination, which would make him Trump’s opponent in the 2020 election. Trump says that Biden pressured Ukraine to sack a prosecutor who was investigating an energy company that Biden’s son Hunter was on the board of, refusing to release US aid until this was done. However, pressure to fire the prosecutor came on a wide front from western countries. It is also believed that the investigation into the company, Burisma, had long been dormant. Reuters Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Hunter Biden Joe Biden’s son has been accused of corruption by the president because of his business dealings in Ukraine and China. However, Trump has yet to produce any evidence of corruption and Biden’s lawyer insists he has done nothing wrong. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal William Barr The attorney-general, who proved his loyalty to Trump with his handling of the Mueller report, was mentioned in the Ukraine call as someone president Volodymyr Zelensky should talk to about following up Trump’s preoccupations with the Biden’s and the Clinton emails. Nancy Pelosi has accused Barr of being part of a “cover-up of a cover-up”. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Mike Pompeo The secretary of state initially implied he knew little about the Ukraine phone call - but it later emerged that he was listening in at the time. He has since suggested that asking foreign leaders for favours is simply how international politics works. Gordon Sondland testified that Pompeo was "in the loop" and knew what was happening in Ukraine. Pompeo has been criticised for not standing up for diplomats under his command when they were publicly criticised by the president. AFP via Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Nancy Pelosi The Democratic Speaker of the House had long resisted calls from within her own party to back a formal impeachment process against the president, apparently fearing a backlash from voters. On September 24, amid reports of the Ukraine call and the day before the White House released a partial transcript of it, she relented and announced an inquiry, saying: “The president must be held accountable. No one is above the law.” Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Adam Schiff Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, one of the three committees leading the inquiry. He was criticized by Republicans for giving what he called a “parody” of the Ukraine phone call during a hearing, with Trump and others saying he had been pretending that his damning characterisation was a verbatim reading of the phone call. He has also been criticised for claiming that his committee had had no contact with the whistleblower, only for it to emerge that the intelligence agent had contacted a staff member on the committee for guidance before filing the complaint. The Washington Post awarded Schiff a “four Pinocchios” rating, its worst rating for a dishonest statement. Reuters Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman Florida-based businessmen and Republican donors Lev Parnas (pictured with Rudy Giuliani) and Igor Fruman were arrested on suspicion of campaign finance violations at Dulles International Airport near Washington DC on 9 October. Separately the Associated Press has reported that they were both involved in efforts to replace the management of Ukraine's gas company, Naftogaz, with new bosses who would steer lucrative contracts towards companies controlled by Trump allies. There is no suggestion of any criminal activity in these efforts. Reuters Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal William Taylor The most senior US diplomat in Ukraine and the former ambassador there. As one of the first two witnesses in the public impeachment hearings, Taylor dropped an early bombshell by revealing that one of his staff – later identified as diplomat David Holmes – overheard a phone conversation in which Donald Trump could be heard asking about “investigations” the very day after asking the Ukrainian president to investigate his political enemies. Taylor expressed his concern at reported plans to withhold US aid in return for political smears against Trump’s opponents, saying: “It's one thing to try to leverage a meeting in the White House. It's another thing, I thought, to leverage security assistance -- security assistance to a country at war, dependent on both the security assistance and the demonstration of support." Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal George Kent A state department official who appeared alongside William Taylor wearing a bow tie that was later mocked by the president. He accused Rudy Giuliani, Mr Trump’s personal lawyer, of leading a “campaign of lies” against Marie Yovanovitch, who was forced out of her job as US ambassador to Ukraine for apparently standing in the way of efforts to smear Democrats. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Marie Yovanovitch One of the most striking witnesses to give evidence at the public hearings, the former US ambassador to Ukraine received a rare round of applause as she left the committee room after testifying. Canadian-born Yovanovitch was attacked on Twitter by Donald Trump while she was actually testifying, giving Democrats the chance to ask her to respond. She said she found the attack “very intimidating”. Trump had already threatened her in his 25 July phone call to the Ukrainian president saying: “She’s going to go through some things.” Yovanovitch said she was “shocked, appalled and devastated” by the threat and by the way she was forced out of her job without explanation. REUTERS Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Alexander Vindman A decorated Iraq War veteran and an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, Lt Col Vindman began his evidence with an eye-catching statement about the freedoms America afforded him and his family to speak truth to power without fear of punishment. One of the few witnesses to have actually listened to Trump’s 25 July call with the Ukrainian president, he said he found the conversation so inappropriate that he was compelled to report it to the White House counsel. Trump later mocked him for wearing his military uniform and insisting on being addressed by his rank. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Jennifer Williams A state department official acting as a Russia expert for vice-president Mike Pence, Ms Williams also listened in on the 25 July phone call. She testified that she found it “unusual” because it focused on domestic politics in terms of Trump asking a foreign leader to investigate his political opponents. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Kurt Volker The former special envoy to Ukraine was one of the few people giving evidence who was on the Republican witness list although what he had to say may not have been too helpful to their cause. He dismissed the idea that Joe Biden had done anything corrupt, a theory spun without evidence by the president and his allies. He said that he thought the US should be supporting Ukraine’s reforms and that the scheme to find dirt on Democrats did not serve the national interest. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Tim Morrison An expert on the National Security Council and another witness on the Republican list. He testified that he did not think the president had done anything illegal but admitted that he feared it would create a political storm if it became public. He said he believed the moving the record of the controversial 25 July phone call to a top security server had been an innocent mistake. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Gordon Sondland In explosive testimony, one of the men at the centre of the scandal got right to the point in his opening testimony: “Was there a quid pro quo? Yes,” said the US ambassador to the EU who was a prime mover in efforts in Ukraine to link the release of military aid with investigations into the president’s political opponents. He said that everyone knew what was going on, implicating vice-president Mike Pence and secretary of state Mike Pompeo. The effect of his evidence is perhaps best illustrated by the reaction of Mr Trump who went from calling Sondland a “great American” a few weeks earlier to claiming that he barely knew him. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Laura Cooper A Pentagon official, Cooper said Ukrainian officials knew that US aid was being withheld before it became public knowledge in August – undermining a Republican argument that there can’t have been a quid pro quo between aid and investigations if the Ukrainians didn’t know that aid was being withheld. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal David Hale The third most senior official at the state department. Hale testified about the treatment of Marie Yovanovitch and the smear campaign that culminated in her being recalled from her posting as US ambassador to Ukraine. He said: “I believe that she should have been able to stay at post and continue to do the outstanding work.” EPA Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Fiona Hill Arguably the most confident and self-possessed of the witnesses in the public hearings phase, the Durham-born former NSC Russia expert began by warning Republicans not to keep repeating Kremlin-backed conspiracy theories. In a distinctive northeastern English accent, Dr Hill went on to describe how she had argued with Gordon Sondland about his interference in Ukraine matters until she realised that while she and her colleagues were focused on national security, Sondland was “being involved in a domestic political errand”. She said: “I did say to him, ‘Ambassador Sondland, Gordon, this is going to blow up’. And here we are.” AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal David Holmes The Ukraine-based diplomat described being in a restaurant in Kiev with Gordon Sondland while the latter phoned Donald Trump. Holmes said he could hear the president on the other end of the line – because his voice was so “loud and distinctive” and because Sondland had to hold the phone away from his ear – asking about the “investigations” and whether the Ukrainian president would cooperate. REUTERS

As The Independent has previously reported, Mr Zelensky’s officials knew about vital military aid being stopped before the news went public in August.

For his part, Mr Trump has denied that a freeze on $391m of military assistance was tied to the premise of an investigation into his rival. This weekend, that already tenuous argument was made even less respectable with the publication of extracts of a new book by former security adviser John Bolton.

The adviser, who fell out with Mr Trump and resigned in the summer, said the president made such a link clear and explicit. He also suggested that Mr Pompeo recalled Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch – while knowing that there was no basis to the criticism against her. Ms Yovanovitch was ousted following pressure from Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, who increasingly seems to be Mr Trump’s main point man on Ukraine.

Ahead of Mr Pompeo’s trip, speculation has centred on what message the secretary of state may deliver from Mr Trump when he meets with Mr Zelensky, ministers and other civic society leaders.

According to state department briefings, Mr Pompeo is expected to “reaffirm” US commitment to Ukraine. Beyond that, all the traditional themes will be on the table: progress in war-and-peace negotiations with Russia; the domestic reform agenda; energy and military cooperation. It remains to be seen whether the scandals over impeachment will be touched in any significant way.

“It is difficult to imagine Pompeo bringing up the issue given the current atmosphere,” said Volodymyr Fesenko, an independent political analyst in Kiev. “Perhaps he will pass a message from Trump in a tete-a-tete scenario with Zelensky, but it would be too risky while other staff are around. Kiev certainly won’t be bringing up the NPR scandal.”

Since being caught up in the US political storm, Ukraine has maintained a position of increasingly strained neutrality. There is certainly little affection inside the Ukrainian elite for an American president who has sided with Moscow on many key foreign policy issues. But there is also growing acceptance that Mr Trump will weather the impeachment inquiry, and is well placed to win a second term.

“The leadership understands they will likely have to deal with this administration for another four years,” said David Marples, a professor at the University of Alberta, Canada. “All they can do is smile, and hope that the US continues to give them weapons.”

“The mantra is: don’t argue with Trump,” agreed Mr Fesenko.

The more pragmatic among Ukraine’s leaders suspect the impeachment scandal could eventually play out in Kiev’s favour – so long as they avoid making concrete commitments.

“There is a sense that because of the growing scandal, Ukraine is protected against the most outrageous of Trump’s wheezes,” said Nataliya Gumenyuk, commentator and founder of Hromadske.tv, a prominent news outlet in Kiev. “Trump can’t openly go against Ukraine. He can’t freeze aid. So while Thursday is likely to bring little in the way of progress, it also won’t be awful.”

One thing that may also – finally – be put on the table is a visit to the White House. Evidence released during the impeachment inquiry suggested that carrot was repeatedly dangled in front of the new Zelensky administration as part of a quid pro quo.

For a long time, Kiev’s new leadership was very keen on the idea. A visit to Washington would have been a key endorsement for the war-torn country, especially in light of tired alliances in Europe. Now, with Kiev keen to limit exposure to the impeachment scandal and an American election campaign, the calculus has changed. A visit would arguably serve only Trump’s interest.

But if a White House visit was offered, Mr Zelensky would surely find it very difficult to refuse.

One party enjoying the increasingly entangled and complex state of US-Ukrainian relations is Russia.

All they can do is smile, and hope that the US continues to give them weapons David Marples, University of Alberta

Since becoming public on Friday, Pompeo’s comments have been cycled on state propaganda networks. Alexei Pushkov, an influential senator and former head of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, took particular delight in noting how quickly the United States was ready to dispense of an ally.

“Pompeo asked if Americans f*****g cared about Ukraine, and basically admitted that Ukraine means nothing for US national interests,” he wrote. “It is the invented priority of a ruling elite.”

Others suggested that Moscow was more focused on Mr Pompeo’s intentions for the next stop of his itinerary.

After leaving Kiev on Friday, the secretary of state is scheduled to make a short stopover in Belarus. The trip is the highest level visit since Bill Clinton visited as president in 1994, and it comes amid growing tensions between the Russian and Belarusian leaderships. For the time being, Vladimir Putin’s attempts to bring Minsk into an ever closer union with Moscow appear to have reached a dead end. The Belarusian president is meanwhile desperately looking for new leverage in his country’s negotiations with Russia, especially for discounted energy products.

That, perhaps, is where the United States comes in – and much to the chagrin of Moscow.