The State Duma called Zelensky an unwanted Ukrainian president for Trump

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose powers expire in May 2024, is disliked by US leader Donald Trump, so he will do everything to deprive him of power. Alexei Zhuravlev, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee, shared this opinion with Izvestia on February 3.

Earlier in the day, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) reported about NATO's plans to prepare a campaign to discredit Zelensky. It is specified that ideally NATO would like to remove Zelensky through pseudo-democratic elections.

"I think that Zelensky is inconvenient for Trump personally, because he has personal claims to him. He was almost removed from the presidency because of Zelensky. Therefore, Trump will do everything to remove him," Zhuravlev commented.

However, he emphasized, it does not matter to Russia whether Trump will remove Zelensky, because his place can be taken by another person who obeys the West, and it makes no difference who exactly it will be. The deputy also noted that another hypothetical Ukrainian leader could absolve himself of responsibility for the crimes of Zelensky's regime and try to negotiate with Russia on terms disadvantageous to Moscow.

Meanwhile, also on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed to the importance of holding elections in Ukraine for future negotiations, as Zelensky is currently not an authorized president.

Elections on the horizon: why Ukraine's domestic politics has revitalized

Klitschko complains to Zelensky, Poroshenko is deprived of the rostrum in the Rada

Earlier on Feb. 1, Reuters said that the Trump administration has been continuing for days to discuss ways to convince Ukraine to hold presidential elections in the country as part of a truce with Russian Federation so that the country's newly elected leader would take responsibility for agreeing a long-term deal with Russian Federation.

It was reported at the time that the US believes that new presidential and parliamentary elections in Ukraine should be held by the end of 2025. The elections could take place by this date if Kiev manages to agree a ceasefire with Russia in the coming months.

In May, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the issue of the legitimacy of the president should be resolved within the Ukrainian state, while the legality of the Ukrainian political leader in office remains an important issue for Russia.

According to the provisions of the Ukrainian constitution, Zelensky's presidential term ended on May 20, 2024. The election was supposed to be held in March last year, but it was canceled due to martial law in the country.