Trump envoy to Ukraine resigns after being named in whistleblower complaint

Official reportedly tasked with ‘navigating’ demands president made of Ukraine leader

Donald Trump’s envoy to Ukraine has reportedly resigned after being named in the whistleblower complaint that has rocked the administration.

Multiple media sources said Kurt Volker, the president’s special representative for Ukraine, resigned on Friday.

A whistleblower complaint from within the intelligence community, released publicly on Thursday, described Mr Volker as trying to “contain the damage” from efforts by Mr Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani, to press Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden and his son.

It said: “On 26 July, a day after the call, special representative for Ukraine negotiations Kurt Volker visited Kyiv and met with president Zelenskyy and a variety of Ukrainian political figures. Ambassador Volker was accompanied in his meetings by US ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland.

“Based on multiple readouts of these meetings recounted to me by various US officials, ambassadors Volker and Sondland reportedly provided advice to the Ukrainian leadership about how to “navigate” the demands that the president had made of Mr Zelenskyy.”

Mr Volker, who had served in the position on a part-time, unpaid basis since 2017, had sought to help Ukraine’s government resolve its confrontation with Russia-sponsored separatists.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Democrats in the House of Representatives, who are conducting an impeachment investigation of Trump, have sought testimony from Mr Volker relating to a July 25 phone call in which Trump encouraged Ukraine’s president to investigate Mr Biden, a political rival.

Mr Volker’s resignation was first reported by the State Press, a student-run publication at Arizona State University, which backs a think tank where he serves as executive director.

Additional reporting by Reuters