<ul class="summary-list"><li>Michael McFaul, a former US ambassador to Russia, says <keyword id="11909347" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="putin" source="Orion">Putin</keyword> is becoming "increasingly unhinged."</li><li>"He's out at his compound, doesn't come into town very much, and under COVID, he's been more isolated," he said.</li></ul><p>A former US ambassador to Russia said Sunday that, after decades in power and intense isolation from COVID-19, Russian President Vladimir Putin was becoming "increasingly unhinged."</p><p><a href="https://politicalscience.stanford.edu/people/michael-mcfaul">Michael McFaul</a>, an Obama-era ambassador to Russia, made the observation during an appearance on <a href="https://twitter.com/MeetThePress/status/1497948719446212608?s=20&amp;t=_20n54siCl6UL0exGz-dxw">NBC's "Meet the Press."</a></p><p>When asked whether Putin was a "rational actor," McFaul said: "To get kicked out of SWIFT as it happened to Russia yesterday, and then to have the president of Russia get in front of his generals and say, 'We need to prepare for nuclear war.' That doesn't sound very rational to me."</p><p>On Saturday, Western nations announced that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-eu-announce-some-russian-banks-removed-from-swift-2022-2">some Russian banks would be removed from SWIFT,</a> a global financial messaging system.</p><p>McFaul, who said he first met Putin in 1991, expressed concern that the Russian leader had believed his own propaganda "for decades."</p><p>"Remember, this guy's been in power for 22 years. He doesn't listen to his aides. Even when I was ambassador eight years ago, he was very dismissive of anybody around him. He's out at his compound, doesn't come into town very much, and, under COVID, he's been more isolated," McFaul said.</p><p>"I sat in the room with him for five years when I worked in the Obama administration. I speak Russian. I listened to him, and I know what he says — he's increasingly unhinged in the way that he talks about the regime," McFaul added.</p><p>The former ambassador also highlighted <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-tries-justifying-ukraine-war-denazification-zelensky-jewish-president-2022-2">Putin's claims that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — a Jewish man — is a neo-Nazi</a> addicted to drugs. "That doesn't sound like somebody who's going to sit down and negotiate a peaceful outcome," McFaul said, referring to Putin.</p><p>In a <a href="https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1498024582434885633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1498024582434885633%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsweek.com%2Fputin-increasingly-unhinged-may-not-negotiate-peaceful-outcome-mcfaul-1683037">separate tweet Monday</a>, McFaul reiterated why he thought people like Putin couldn't be reasoned with.</p><p>"When dictators rule for decades, they (1) stop listening to advisors, (2) become disconnected from reality, (3) spend a lot of time alone, and (4) overreach," he wrote. "This is exactly what has happened to Putin."</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-announces-military-assault-against-ukraine-in-surprise-speech-2022-2">Early Thursday morning,</a> Putin announced a sudden military assault on <keyword id="11985141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-announces-military-assault-against-ukraine-in-surprise-speech-2022-2">,</a> saying he wanted to "demilitarize and denazify" the country.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/live-updates-russia-ukraine-crisis-2022-2">Insider's live blog of the invasion</a> is covering developments as they happen.</p>

A former US ambassador to Russia says Putin is becoming 'increasingly unhinged' and 'disconnected from reality'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Ukrainian President Zelensky said as recently as Monday that he didn't believe <keyword id="11894337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword> would invade.</li><li>He called on Putin to negotiate after Russia recognized two Ukrainian regions as independent.</li></ul><p><keyword id="11985141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword>'s President Volodymyr Zelensky signaled as recently as Tuesday that he didn't expect Russia to mount a full-scale invasion.</p><p>In the wake of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-attacks-ukraine-launching-new-war-in-europe-2022-2">Vladimir Putin's sweeping attack</a> Thursday morning local time, those words appear very distant.</p><p>"The Ukrainian side believes that a broad escalation on the part of Russia will not happen," <a href="https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/ukrayina-rozglyane-pitannya-rozrivu-diplomatichnih-vidnosin-73057">the presidential release read</a>.</p><p>That belief was not shared by Western leaders at the time, who had long asserted that Putin had already decided to invade.</p><p>It came a day after Russian troops <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-orders-russia-troops-to-ukraine-major-escalation-2022-2">advanced on the Donbas region</a> in the wake of Putin granting formal recognition to two separatist areas there, Luhansk and Donetsk. </p><p>Zelensky <a href="https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/ukrayina-kvalifikuye-ostanni-diyi-rosiyi-yak-porushennya-suv-73037">called the move a "provocation"</a> and <a href="https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/spilna-zayava-prezidenta-ukrayini-volodimira-zelenskogo-ta-p-73045">continued to call Putin to the negotiating table</a>, a move that Putin ignored.</p><p>Ukraine had prepared for the conflict even as its president said he thought it would not come, taking deliveries of armaments from NATO countries, declaring a state of emergency and activating its army reserve.</p><p>Russian military movements over the past months had foreshadowed an attack. US estimates say as many as 190,000 troops gathered around Ukraine to its north, east, and south.</p><p>In line with that, Western leaders made clear they believed <keyword id="11904994" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="war" source="Orion">war</keyword> was coming. </p><p>Last Friday, 18 February, US President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-convinced-of-russia-invasion-into-kyiv-in-coming-days-2022-2">said he was "convinced"</a> Putin had decided to attack Ukraine and would target the capital, Kyiv, which came to pass on Thursday.</p><p>Upon Russia's invasion Thursday morning, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-statement-putin-launched-premeditated-war-on-ukraine-2022-2">Biden called the assault "premeditated."</a></p><p>On Monday — before Putin's move into the Donbas — the UK's Prime Minister Boris Johnson <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-60448162">told the BBC</a> that intelligence indicated potential for "the biggest war in Europe since 1945."</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/live-updates-russia-ukraine-crisis-2022-2">Insider's live blog of the invasion</a> is covering developments as they happen.</strong></p>

2 days before Putin invaded, Ukraine's president said he thought a full-scale attack wasn't going to happen

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been hospitalized with <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword>.</li><li>A spokeswoman for Zelensky told Reuters his illness was "nothing serious" despite his admission to a hospital.</li><li><keyword id="6355101" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ukraine">Ukraine</keyword>'s number of <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> cases recorded daily has trended upward.</li><li>Zelensky played a pivotal role in recent US <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics">politics</keyword> — President Donald Trump was impeached over a phone call he made to Zelensky in the summer of 2019.</li></ul><p>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a key figure key to the impeachment of US President Donald Trump, has been hospitalized with COVID-19.</p><p>A spokeswoman for Zelensky <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-president/ukraine-president-zelenskiy-hospitalised-due-to-covid-19-idUSKBN27S0QC">told the Reuters news agency</a> on Thursday that he was in a hospital, though she described his condition as "nothing serious."</p><p>Zelensky, who is 42, announced on Monday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. He wrote on Twitter that he would self-isolate and take vitamins and that "It's gonna be fine!"</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Володимир Зеленський  (@ZelenskyyUa) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1325818730035736577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2020</a></blockquote><p>The spokeswoman said of his health on Thursday: "There are better conditions for patients [in the hospital]. Nothing serious."</p><p>According to Reuters, the country's finance minister, its defense minister, and a top aide to Zelensky were also said to be infected.</p><p>Zelensky played a pivotal role in recent US politics, thanks to a phone call from Trump in July 2019 in which Trump pressured him to investigate the activities of Joe Biden and his family in Ukraine.</p><p>Critics argued that this showed Trump abusing his power. The call led to Trump's impeachment by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives in December.</p><div type="image" title="trump zelensky" height="671" width="1024" msid="79191441" hostid="261"></div><p>He was acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate in January.</p><p>Biden went on to beat Trump in the presidential election last week.</p><p>More than 9,200 people have died of the coronavirus in Ukraine, and more than 515,000 people have been infected.</p><p>The country's number of coronavirus cases reported daily has risen over the course of the pandemic and is now at an all-time high.</p><div type="image" title="Coronavirus ukraine" height="1207" width="2000" msid="79191445" hostid="261"></div><p>Other world leaders have also tested positive for the coronavirus, including Trump and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Both were also hospitalized but later recovered.</p>

Ukrainian President Zelensky, who was pivotal in Trump's impeachment, has been hospitalized with COVID-19

<ul class="summary-list"><li>On Tuesday, an armed gunman named Maksym Kryvosh took a bus with 13 passengers hostage in western <keyword id="6355101" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ukraine">Ukraine</keyword>, while informing authorities he had a bomb set up somewhere in the city that he could detonate from inside the bus.</li><li>Kryvosh had a few specific demands, including President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly recommending "<keyword id="359530" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Earthlings">Earthlings</keyword>", a documentary about animal exploitation, as well as for senior Ukrainian politicians to declare themselves terrorists.</li><li>Towards the end of a nearly 12-hour standoff, Kryvosh and Zelensky spoke on the phone, and three hostages were released afterward.</li><li>The other ten were released once the president posted a video on Facebook to his 1,176,687 followers where he said: "The film Earthlings from 2005. Everyone should watch it."</li><li>After the hostages were freed, and the Facebook post had been deleted, Zelensky released a statement, where he said: "We were not fighting for ratings," he said. "We were fighting for lives."</li></ul><p>Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky was forced to recommend "Earthlings," an animal-rights documentary narrated by Joaquin Phoenix, on Facebook to save the lives of 10 hostages after a heated 12-hour standoff on Tuesday. </p><p>According to reports, at about 9 a.m. local time, on Tuesday morning, a 44-year-old man named Maksym Kryvosh, armed with an automatic rifle and grenades, took control of a bus with 13 passengers in Lustk, a city in western Ukraine. </p><p>Kryvosh called the police at 9.25 a.m. to report he had taken the bus hostage and that it was rigged with explosives, according to a <a href="https://t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official/339">statement</a> from Zelensky. </p><p>He also told the authorities he had set up another bomb somewhere in the city that he could detonate from the bus, and demanded that senior politicians declare they were terrorists, according to the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53489527">BBC</a>.  </p><p>Onboard, during a nearly 12-hour standoff, while armed forces surrounded the bus, and nearby apartment buildings were evacuated, he showed the hostages "Earthlings," a 2005 Hollywood documentary about animal suffering caused by human exploitation, with a soundtrack by Moby, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/world/europe/ukraine-bus-hostages.html">The New York Times</a>.  </p><p>He fired shots at least once over the head of a senior police commander who tried to approach the bus and negotiate. </p><p>The standoff ended shortly after Kryvosh and Zelensky spoke on the phone for about 15 minutes. </p><p>Three hostages were released first, followed by the other 10 once Zelenskiv posted a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/zelenskiy95/posts/2586117564971937">video</a> on Facebook to his 1,176,687 followers, where he said: "The film Earthlings from 2005. Everyone should watch it."</p><p>Ukraine's Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko posted photos of Kryvosh once he'd been arrested, face down on the ground, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/armed-man-takes-20-hostages-bus-ukraine-explosives/story?id=71891210">ABC News</a> reported. </p><p>After the hostages were freed, and the Facebook post had been deleted, Zelensky released a statement, where he said: "We were not fighting for ratings," he said. "We were fighting for lives."</p><p>According to Ukrainian authorities, Kryvosh had spent 10 years in prison after being convicted for fraud and illegally possessing fire arms. </p><p>Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov told journalists that another "lengthy prison sentence" awaited him. </p><p>No one was harmed, although there were bullet holes in the bus, The Times reported.</p>

An armed man in Ukraine released 10 hostages after the president publicly recommended the animal-rights documentary 'Earthlings'

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d8ba70e2e22af3b074d7b1d-2000/zelensky.jpg" border="0" alt="Zelensky" data-mce-source="Chris Helgren/Reuters" data-mce-caption="Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a bilateral meeting with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of the Ukraine Reform Conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, July 2, 2019." /><p class="source"><span>Chris Helgren/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a bilateral meeting with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of the Ukraine Reform Conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, July 2, 2019.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has only been in office a few months and he's already at the center of a scandal that's threatening <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-donald-trump-bio-age-family-key-positions-2019-4">Donald Trump's</a> presidency.</li><li>A phone call between Trump and Zelensky in late July has been tied to a whistleblower complaint from a US intelligence official.</li><li>Trump in the phone call repeatedly pressured Zelensky to investigate former Vice President <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-joe-biden-bio-age-family-key-positions-2019-3">Joe Biden</a>, a frontrunner in the Democratic presidential race.</li><li>Before entering <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics">politics</keyword>, Zelensky was a comedian and a TV star. </li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</strong></li></ul><p>Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky is not your average politician, and his ascent to high office was anything but typical.</p><p>Zelensky is a former comedian and TV star, who had zero prior political experience when he won a landslide victory in Ukraine's presidential election in April. </p><p>Just a few months into his tenure, Zelensky is at the center of a scandal in the US involving a phone call between him and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-donald-trump-bio-age-family-key-positions-2019-4">President Donald Trump</a> that's led House Democrats to launch a formal impeachment inquiry. </p><p>In the call, Trump repeatedly pressured Zelensky to investigate former Vice President <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-joe-biden-bio-age-family-key-positions-2019-3">Joe Biden</a> and his son, Hunter Biden, in relation to the latter's ties to a Ukrainian natural gas company. </p><p>Trump's call with Zelensky is connected to a whistleblower complaint filed by an intelligence official, but is reportedly only a piece of the puzzle and the complaint pertained to more than a single conversation. </p><h2>Here's more on Zelensky and how he became embroiled in a scandal threatening Trump's presidency:</h2>

Meet Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's comedian turned president who's at the center of the scandal threatening Trump's presidency

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d92708e2e22af2a8d2a5f79-2400/2019-09-25t131237z1lynxmpef8o151rtroptp4un-assembly-trump.jpg" border="0" alt="FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attends as U.S. President Donald Trump meets with South Korea's President Moon Jae-in in New York, U.S. September 23, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst" data-mce-source="Reuters" data-mce-caption="U.S. President Trump attends meetings on sidelines of U.N. General Assembly in New York" /></div></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was a participant in a July 25 phone call with President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky, the Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/mcconnell-envisions-senate-trial-if-house-passes-articles-of-impeachment-11569865002">reported</a> Monday. </li><li>The State Department has already faced scrutiny over the extent of its involvement in the call, in which Trump pressured Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.</li><li>The call is central to a whistleblower complaint that sparked an impeachment inquiry into Trump. </li><li>Pompeo on Friday was subpoenaed for documents related to the inquiry.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was one of the participants in a July 25 phone call between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/mcconnell-envisions-senate-trial-if-house-passes-articles-of-impeachment-11569865002" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> Monday.</p><p>Pompeo's involvement in the call had not been reported previously. The revelation further ropes the State Department into a brewing controversy surrounding Trump's efforts to pressure a foreign government to interfere in the 2020 election.</p><p>In the July call, Trump urged Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.</p><p>The phone call is now at the heart of a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/read-declassified-whistleblower-complaint-ukraine-trump-zelensky-2019-9">whistleblower complaint</a> from a US intelligence official that's catalyzed an impeachment inquiry into Trump. As part of this effort, the House Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, and Oversight committees on Friday <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-whistleblower-impeachment/2019/09/27/55b99276-e0a8-11e9-8dc8-498eabc129a0_story.html">subpoenaed Pompeo</a> for related documents and scheduled depositions with five current or former State Department officials. </p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/read-declassified-whistleblower-complaint-ukraine-trump-zelensky-2019-9">Read the full declassified whistleblower complaint about a phone call between Trump and Ukraine's president</a></em></p><p>The whistleblower complaint said approximately a dozen White House officials listened in on the July 25 call, and specifically named top State Department official Ulrich Brechbuhl as at least one of the people on the call. Though the whistleblower said they did not know if anyone was in the room with Trump during the call. </p><p>Pompeo has already faced questions about the extent of the department's involvement in facilitating contacts between Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and an aide to Zelensky, Andriy Yermak. The whistleblower complaint says that the meeting was a "direct follow-up" to Trump's call with Zelensky about the "cases" they had discussed. </p><p>Giuliani, who has disputed the contents of the complaint and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/giuliani-calls-complaint-crap-says-people-torturing-him-2019-9">referred to it as "crap,"</a> last week claimed that the State Department urged him to make contact with and meet Yermak in Madrid in early August. And on Sunday, Giuliani claimed Pompeo was aware of his efforts to pressure Ukraine to look into the Bidens. </p><p>"I did not do this on my own. I did it at the request of the State Department and I have all of the text messages to prove it. And I also have a thank you from them from doing a good job," Giuliani said in an appearance on CBS's "Face the Nation."</p><p>The State Department has acknowledged that the former US special representative to Ukraine, Kurt Volker, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rudy-giuliani-trump-ukraine-whistleblower-scandal-2019-9">put Giuliani and Yermak in touch.</a> But a spokesperson told the Journal that Giuliani is "a private citizen and acts in a personal capacity as a lawyer for President Trump" adding that he "does not speak on behalf of the US Government."</p><p>Volker resigned on Friday, becoming the first official to leave their position in the wake of the launch of the impeachment inquiry and release of the whistleblower complaint. He's among the five current or former State Department officials with scheduled hearings linked to the inquiry. </p><p>Giuliani has been involved in outreach to Ukraine for months and has said the State Department got in touch with him about it <a href="https://twitter.com/RudyGiuliani/status/1177346278004539392?s=20">in July</a>. But he told "Face the Nation" on Sunday that he didn't know of Pompeo's knowledge of his outreach until last week.</p><p>"When I spoke to the secretary last week, I said, 'Are you aware of this?' and he said, 'Yes, I know about this,'" Giuliani said, going on to suggest that the department wants to distance itself from his efforts with Ukraine. </p><p>"The State Department is running away from me," he said. </p><p>The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. </p>

Mike Pompeo reportedly took part in Trump's July 25 phone call with Ukraine's president

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d9102332e22af3b2130a1c4-2400/2019-09-29t133644z1lynxmpef8s0g0rtroptp4usa-trump-whistleblower.jpg" border="0" alt="U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) speaks during a news conference about impeachment proceedings at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., September 25, 2019. REUTERS/Al Drago" data-mce-source="Reuters" data-mce-caption="U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol" /><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">US House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) speaks during a <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> conference at the U.S. Capitol</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>The whistleblower at the center of the impeachment inquiry into US President Donald Trump has agreed to testify before US Congress, US House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said. </li><li>Schiff told ABC's "This Week," in an interview, that he expects the whistleblower to testify "very soon."</li><li>The hearing is expected to take place as soon as measures are completed to protect the whistleblower's identity.</li><li>"We'll get the unfiltered testimony of that whistleblower," Schiff said.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul><p>The whistleblower whose complaint laid the foundation for an impeachment inquiry into US President Donald Trump has agreed to testify before US Congress, according to US House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff. </p><p>The Committee reached an agreement with the whistleblower to testify before Congress "very soon," Schiff, a representative from California, said <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/sunday-week-rudy-giuliani-rep-adam-schiff/story?id=65936716">in an interview with George Stephanopoulos during ABC's "This Week"</a> on Sunday.  </p><p>"We'll get the unfiltered testimony of that whistleblower," Schiff said.</p><p>Schiff expects the testimony to take place as soon as measures can be completed to protect the whistleblower's identity. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is working through the security clearance process for the whistleblower's lawyers.<br /><br />"As you can imagine with the President issuing threats like we ought to treat these people who expose my wrongdoing as we used to treat traitors and spies and we used to execute traitors and spies, you can imagine the security concerns here," Schiff said. </p><p>A spokesperson for the Committee could not be reached by phone or email on Sunday. </p><p>The whistleblower - <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/whistleblower-who-filed-trump-complaint-is-cia-officer-nyt-2019-9">reportedly a CIA officer</a> who was once assigned to work with the White House - filed in August a complaint that alleged, among other things, that White House officials believed they saw Trump "abuse his office for personal gain" in a July phone call with Volodomyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine. </p><p>The complaint, which was declassified last week, alleges that Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, who is competing for the Democratic nomination to run against Trump for president, and help discredit the Russia investigation.</p><p>In light of the revelations, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nancy-pelosi-announce-trump-impeachment-inquiry-2019-9">announced last week</a> a formal impeachment inquiry into Trump.</p><section><h1><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/read-declassified-whistleblower-complaint-ukraine-trump-zelensky-2019-9">Read a summary of and the full declassified whistleblower complaint about a phone call between Trump and Ukraine's president here.</a></h1></section>     <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/airplane-tap-water-tainted-epa-faa-fda-flight-attendants-avoid-study-video-2017-2">Here's why flight attendants avoid drinking tap water on airplanes</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/C9HwJKH0-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

You Searched For "volodomyr zelensky" and got 7 results

A former US ambassador to Russia says Putin is becoming 'increasingly unhinged' and 'disconnected from reality'

Cheryl Teh

2 days before Putin invaded, Ukraine's president said he thought a full-scale attack wasn't going to happen

Mia Jankowicz

Ukrainian President Zelensky, who was pivotal in Trump's impeachment, has been hospitalized with COVID-19

Sinéad Baker

An armed man in Ukraine released 10 hostages after the president publicly recommended the animal-rights documentary 'Earthlings'

James Pasley

Meet Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's comedian turned president who's at the center of the scandal threatening Trump's presidency

John Haltiwanger

Mike Pompeo reportedly took part in Trump's July 25 phone call with Ukraine's president

Sonam Sheth,John Haltiwanger

The whistleblower at the center of the Trump impeachment inquiry has agreed to testify before Congress, says Rep. Adam Schiff

Ashley Rodriguez