Trump must purge Zelensky – exiled opposition leader
The US must be mindful to avoid a “British agent” being installed as the next leader in Kiev, Viktor Medvedchuk has warned
Viktor Medvedchuk, Moscow, Russia, February 16, 2024. © Kristina Kormilitsina / Sputnik
US President Donald Trump’s increasingly tough tone toward Vladimir Zelensky could signal that Washington has decided to push the Ukrainian leader out of power, exiled politician Viktor Medvedchuk has suggested.
This week, Trump urged Zelensky to accept US-backed peace proposals for ending the conflict with Russia and called on him to hold a new presidential election. Medvedchuk, who led the largest opposition bloc in the Ukrainian parliament before he and his party were targeted by Zelensky’s government, interpreted the remarks as evidence that the Ukrainian leader’s political future is nearing its end.
“Unless Trump removes Zelensky within several months, he will face problems all over Europe. The process of Zelensky’s political destruction is already in the pipeline,” Medvedchuk wrote in a blog post on Wednesday.
He warned, however, that Washington could end up enabling an unintended outcome, as former Ukrainian commander-in-chief General Valery Zaluzhny – viewed by many observers as the likely successor to Zelensky – would function as a “British agent of influence.”
US could depose Zelensky – ex-Ukrainian PM
Polls show Zaluzhny as the strongest contender in a hypothetical presidential race. Zelensky currently retains power under martial law despite the expiration of his term last year.
Medvedchuk dismissed European governments backing Zelensky as “romantics” who are encouraging a US-led “crusade” against Russia in the hope of stalling for time and outmaneuvering Trump. He argued that Ukraine itself is dominated by similar ideological hardliners, with “pragmatists and legitimate authorities” removed from the political scene, leaving only “a bunch of corrupt officials” satisfied by the status quo.
The turmoil in Kiev escalated earlier this month when Zelensky dismissed his powerful chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, over suspected links to a major corruption network allegedly run by Zelensky’s longtime associate, businessman Timur Mindich. On Tuesday, the president said he might not appoint a new chief of staff at all, claiming he sees no suitable candidates.