Ukrainian leader was pressured early

Before inauguration, Zelenskiy feared entanglement, sources say

KYIV, Ukraine — More than two months before the phone call that launched the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, Ukraine’s newly elected leader was already worried about pressure from the U.S. president to investigate his Democratic rival Joe Biden.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy gathered a small group of advisers on May 7 in Kyiv for a meeting that was supposed to be about his nation’s energy needs. Instead, the group spent most of the three-hour discussion talking about how to navigate the insistence from Trump and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, for a probe and how to avoid becoming entangled in the American elections, according to three people familiar with the details of the meeting.

The meeting came about two weeks after Trump called to offer his congratulations on the night of the Ukrainian leader’s April 21 election.

The full details of what the two leaders discussed in that Easter phone call have never been publicly disclosed, and it is not clear whether Trump explicitly asked for an investigation of the Bidens.

Regardless, the newly elected leader knew early on that vital military support might depend on whether he was willing to choose a side in an American political tussle.

Zelenskiy’s office in Kyiv did not respond to messages Wednesday seeking comment.

The White House would not comment on whether Trump pressed for an investigation in the April 21 call. The White House has offered only a bare-bones public readout on the April call.