Exclusive | Mike Pompeo picked up $300k for Ukraine 'solidarity' trip in 2023

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has racked up a string of lucrative directorships since leaving office, The Post can reveal, including a multi-million-dollar consulting gig with Ukraine’s top cell phone operator.Pompeo, whose security detail was revoked by President Trump in January, signed up for an advisory job with Kyivstar and its Nasdaq-listed parent VEON in June of last year, financial filings show.The 61-year-old had joined the boards of Kyivstar and VEON in November 2023 and May 2024, respectively.Documents reviewed by The Post show that Pompeo is paid $50,000 a month — or $600,000 a year — for “strategic and financial advice” and lobbying “relevant Ukrainian, US and EU stakeholders.”Pompeo’s Delaware-based Impact Investments firm was also handed stock warrants worth $16 million, and a $3 million bonus “in connection with the successful completion of a strategic M&A transaction.”Kyivstar is also planning to list on the Nasdaq by the end of this year with a planned valuation of $2.2 billion, filings show.The lucrative deal also guarantees Pompeo first-class flights or the use of a private jet whenever he is traveling on behalf of the Ukrainian telecoms giant.Despite being paid like a mover and shaker, Washington insiders say Pompeo is on a fool’s errand.“Why would anyone hire Mike Pompeo right now?” is how one source familiar with the situation put it.“He has absolutely no currency inside the current White House.”A source close to Pompeo disputed that characterization, telling The Post the former secretary of state is in regular contact with members of Trump’s cabinet.Pompeo, who served as America’s top diplomat during the final 33 months of Trump’s first term, also demanded an eye-watering $300,000 fee from a Ukrainian charity that helps wounded veterans to appear in Kyiv in April 2023, when he was flirting with a possible run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.The former Kansas congressman took the...