In the United States, unlike Ukraine, impeachment is a real threat to the president. Why am I comparing it to Ukraine? That’s because here it is impossible both in theory and practice. Absolutization of presidential powers in Ukraine is to some extent the cause of our revolutions and Maidans. In America, when President Nixon was once threatened with impeachment, but he chose to resign when he realized the reality of this threat. Thus Nixon's wrongdoings were significantly less significant than those of Mr Trump. Clinton was also facing impeachment once. But, ultimately, he acknowledged the truth - his affair with Monica Lewinsky. This recognition of truth was what eventually saved him...

Today Russia ties of Donald Trump and his team, which can be regarded as treason, may be grounds for impeachment. But it will be very difficult to prove that Trump was directly involved in the act. So now they will be seriously pursuing the lines of Flynn, or Trump’s in-law, or others people from the 45th president’s entourage. In this situation really important was the testimony provided by former FBI chief James Comey, who has enough reliable information on the ties of Mr Trump and his associates with Russian intelligence agencies.

Today Russia ties of Donald Trump and his team, which can be regarded as treason, may be grounds for impeachment

In fact, the U.S. president, who has not yet earned the name of a real president, is already being perceived as a "lame duck." But most importantly, the subversive operation of Russian special services aimed at meddling in the U.S. elections, has undermined the very legitimacy of Donald Trump. He is well aware of this, so he will keep rejecting all accusations. After all, if he recognizes all of this, he will be impeached. If not, he will be impeached as well. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Trump has explored every possible way to compensate for this mess with a variety of foreign policy moves, demonstrating that he is allegedly independent from Russia. It’s not been working well though.

We can say for sure that Trump will not go like Nixon - he will be fighting to the end. But the more he will be defending himself, the more Americans will realize that he has been lying all along. President’s lies are a very serious reason to remove him from office. Now Trump is moving steadily toward impeachment. We are yet to see whether he will cross the line, but the probability is quite high.

We can say for sure that Trump will not go like Nixon - he will be fighting to the end

Of course, Trump’s team will be vigorously opposing the impeachment scenario. After all, the GOP understands that if this happens, it will seriously undermine the party’s credibility. But among the Republicans there are also advocates of Trump’s impeachment. As a result, powerful forces are being united around this idea. Thus, the worst thing is that the Russian active measures have undermined the U.S. political system and the Americans’ faith in the sanctity of this system. This is what "hybrid warfare" is all about. But I think the Americans have not yet realized the whole extent of the problem.

Hryhoriy Perepelytsia is Doctor of Political Sciences, a professor at Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv, Doctor of Political Sciences, and an expert on international politics