Long embraces, firm handshakes and always a good word to ease tense faces. The scene feels like a campaign rally – yet it's taking place in Izium, in eastern Ukraine, some 50 kilometers from the front lines. The audience consists primarily of Ukrainian soldiers in fatigues. These men, members of various brigades deployed in the area, were gathered alongside stacks of drones, Starlink antennas and electrical generators. This state-of-the-art equipment was financed by former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko (2014-2019), who came to deliver it to the troops in person on January 13.

"My aim is not only to provide them with the equipment the soldiers need but also to re-energize them. Despite the smiles on their faces when they meet me, I can see they're exhausted," said the former president, who claims to meet around 10 brigades every week when he's not in Kyiv, where he sits as an MP in the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian Parliament, or abroad, meeting Western leaders and cultivating his networks.

Speaking about Donald Trump, whom he met in 2017 when they were both presidents, Poroshenko said he believes Trump's return to the White House is a good opportunity for Ukraine. He recalled that it was under his first term that Washington began supplying Kyiv with lethal weapons. "We need to find the right arguments with Trump. It's also about the interests of the US and its reputation in the world. That's why anything is possible," he said.

Zelensky's popularity has plummeted

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