KYIV — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to Ukraine next week, just as the Senate's impeachment trial of Donald Trump on charges he sought to pressure Ukraine's government into investigating Joe Biden heats up.



Three diplomatic sources with knowledge of Pompeo’s schedule told BuzzFeed News he will visit Kyiv next Friday, Jan. 31.

His visit will include a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose phone call with Trump is at the heart of the impeachment trial. Pompeo's trip will mark the first time a member of Trump's cabinet has met Zelensky since the impeachment saga began last September, when news broke that Trump had withheld military aid and a White House visit in order to pressure Zelensky to publicly announce investigations into former vice president Biden, and his son, Hunter.

Ukraine’s leaders will be pleased with the visit, which is meant to show that the US still stands by the country’s side as it continues to fight a war against an aggressive Russia in its east and against corrupt oligarchs in its capital.

The three diplomatic sources described Pompeo’s upcoming visit as substantive and not simply a drop-in. Pompeo, the sources said, is expected to also meet with top government officials, and to pay his respects to Ukraine’s fallen soldiers and revolutionaries at memorials in the capital.

However, some observers say the visit shows where Ukraine stands among the Trump administration’s priorities. “The timing of Pompeo’s visit is in keeping with the White House’s past behavior towards Kyiv, which has made it clear that it’s far down its list of priorities,” said Katharine Quinn-Judge, a Ukraine analyst for Crisis Group.

Ivan Yakovina, a foreign policy columnist for Ukraine's Novoye Vremya newsmagazine, said one reason for Pompeo’s trip could be to make sure that “no bad surprises would come from Kyiv during the Trump Senate trial.”

“I mean no word-to-word transcripts of the relevant phone calls or other documents will leak,” he said. “If I were him I would assure the Ukrainians that they will be rewarded if nothing unexpected happens during the trial. And punished if comrade Trump’s enemies will get some sort of help or comfort from Kyiv.”

The trip could also shine a critical light on Pompeo’s decision to recall former US ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, and the slow response to the possible surveillance of her by allies of President Trump. It could also expose tensions between Pompeo and career US foreign service officers stationed in Kyiv, who’ve expressed their frustration with the secretary of state privately to BuzzFeed News in recent weeks.