- Manafort was convicted for work he did for former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.
- Trump pardoned Manafort in 2020; Manafort was Trump's campaign chair in 2016.
- Manafort said he plans to steer clear of politics in his new consulting role.
Paul Manafort's involvement with Russia, Ukraine, and former President Donald Trump jeopardized his career once before.
That's why the Trump-pardoned campaign veteran told Politico he's steering clear of politics in his latest venture — and then wove in a plea for world leaders to help Ukraine survive the ongoing Russian invasion.
"The U.S. and Europe need to be much more aggressive with providing Ukraine with the lethal weapons that they need to defend themselves," Manafort, who reportedly made tens of millions of dollars while advising former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, said of the current conflict.
"I have no doubt in my mind that Ukraine would not lose a battle on the ground if they have the weapons they need, but I also worry that Putin's strategy will be to win through negotiations what he cannot win on the battlefield," Manafort said, adding that he fears "Europeans and Americans would put pressure on the Ukrainians to concede on things that they should not concede on, like ceding any territory to Russia or committing that they would not be part of NATO in the future."
The pro-Ukrainian posturing echoes the anti-Russian sentiments Manafort shared with WABC radio host Frank Morano in March.
"Afghanistan is going to look like a cakewalk compared to what Ukraine will be like if Putin does get control of the country," Manafort said during an appearance on "The Other Side of Midnight."
His expertise in Ukrainian affairs aside, Manafort insists he has other things to offer the consulting world.
"When you're as old as I am, you have a lot of breadth and depth and are able to help people with strategic advice to solve their problems or give them comfort," he said in the Politico interview.
Manafort was then-presidential hopeful Donald Trump's campaign chairman for six months in 2016. He was convicted on eight counts of bank and tax fraud relating to his Ukrainian-related consulting work in 2018, and sentenced to 7 ½ years in prison in 2019.
Trump pardoned Manafort in late 2020.