Inflammation of the rada: how the Trump team is looking for a replacement for Zelensky
According to American and Ukrainian press reports, representatives of Donald Trump held talks with Ukrainian opposition leaders, including Petro Poroshenko and Yulia Tymoshenko. It is alleged that it was about the removal of Vladimir Zelensky and the organization of new presidential elections. Izvestia investigated the situation.
Trumpists establish contacts with Zelensky's opponents
Senior representatives of Donald Trump held secret talks with Ukrainian opposition figures Yulia Tymoshenko and Petro Poroshenko, Politico writes. It is reported that the meetings discussed the possibility of holding new presidential elections in Ukraine, which would remove Vladimir Zelensky from power. The White House allegedly believes that the current Ukrainian leader will not be able to be elected due to the fatigue of the population from the fighting and corruption.
Yulia Tymoshenko
At the same time, Politico emphasizes that both Poroshenko and Tymoshenko publicly oppose the elections. "On the sidelines, however, both advertise themselves as useful people who will be easier to work with. And they hint that they would rather do a lot of things that Zelensky does not agree to," said one of the interlocutors of the publication. It is also emphasized that contacts have intensified even more after Washington's decision to suspend military assistance to Kiev.
After the publication was published, Petro Poroshenko confirmed the fact of negotiations with the Americans. According to him, the dialogue is conducted publicly and transparently in order to maintain bipartisan support for Ukraine. "I have repeatedly offered to coordinate these meetings with the authorities, including inviting the ambassador to them. I also said that the government team does not interact well with the current American administration, which creates risks for our state," he said.
At the same time, Poroshenko stressed that he was not seeking to hold elections as soon as possible. According to him, the electoral procedure can take place only after a ceasefire and the signing of a peace agreement with security guarantees for Ukraine. "After that, martial law will end. Then, no later than 180 days later, democratic elections will be held in the country, which will ensure the expression of the will of citizens and the trust of the free world," he said.
Yulia Tymoshenko also said that she is in contact with the American side, but does not discuss the elections. "Our team is negotiating with all the allies who can help ensure a just peace as soon as possible. Up to this point, there can be no talk of holding any kind of voting in Ukraine," she stressed. At the same time, Sergei Yevtushok, a member of the rada from her party, said that he knew about the negotiations, but would not tell anything, "because they are very secret."
Apparently, these reports seriously worried Zelensky's team. For example, Dmitry Cherny, a deputy of the rada from the pro-presidential Servant of the People party, demanded that the SBU conduct an investigation into Poroshenko and Tymoshenko. "Both politicians publicly oppose elections until the end of hostilities, but Politico claims that they are still negotiating. Their goal may be to destabilize the situation, put pressure on Zelensky and promote a candidate who will make concessions to Russia," he said.
Control over the rada is weakening
The Ukrainian newspaper Strana, citing its sources, also reports on the negotiations between Trump's representatives and the opposition. According to published data, the Americans have established contacts not only with Poroshenko and Tymoshenko, but also with former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny, Mayor of Kiev Vitali Klitschko, head of the Servants of the People faction David Arakhamia and a number of other figures. "Washington wants to organize internal pressure on Zelensky in order to encourage him to agree to a cease—fire," the report says.
Mayor of Kiev Vitali Klitschko
It is also emphasized that there is increasing confusion on the Ukrainian sidelines about Zelensky's conflict with the current American administration. "No one understands why he was rude to Trump and Vance in the White House, why he was fiercely opposed to the idea of a cease-fire, eventually running into the termination of American aid. Taking into account all the preliminary conditions, a cease-fire would be beneficial for Ukraine now. But Zelensky is trying to block this idea in all possible ways," the source notes.
Interestingly, the figures mentioned in this message also publicly rejected the idea of holding presidential elections in Ukraine as soon as possible. So, Valery Zaluzhny said that the country first needs to preserve its statehood, only then it will be possible to think about something else. Moreover, in one of his speeches, the former commander-in-chief sharply criticized the Trump team, accusing it of destroying the world order. "It is obvious that the White House has questioned the unity of the entire Western world," he said.
In turn, Vitali Klitschko stressed that the elections in the current conditions would be poison for Ukraine, because they would destroy unity inside and outside the country. According to him, electoral procedures can take place only after the establishment of peace. At the same time, he also did not hesitate to criticize the current American administration, stating that he did not like the terms of the deal with the United States on rare earths.
In such circumstances, it may seem that the Ukrainian political class is monolithic; in fact, there have been alarming signals for Zelensky's team lately, most of them from the Verkhovna Rada. So, at the end of February, the Ukrainian parliament suddenly failed to vote on a resolution stating support for the extension of his powers by the Ukrainian president. It was a serious embarrassment, given that the discussion was watched by European commissioners and ambassadors of European countries.
In early March, a statement on behalf of the parliament appeared on the website of the Verkhovna Rada, stating that the deputies welcomed the peaceful efforts of Donald Trump. It is important that the document was published against the background of Zelensky's fierce conflict with the American administration, that is, it became a rather frank evidence of unrest in Kiev. Finally, in early March, deputy and former speaker of the Rada Dmitry Razumkov called for the urgent creation of a parliamentary group for negotiations with the United States. From the context, it is clear that we are talking about a dialogue bypassing Zelensky.
What the experts say
Political analyst Mikhail Pavlyv believes that the administration of Donald Trump is not completely disappointed in Zelensky yet.
— I think the Americans are also offering him a chance to come to his senses. They will probably try to establish a dialogue with him for about another month. If he continues to demonstrate incompetence, then they will be engaged in a change of power in Ukraine. At the same time, the main events will unfold around the Verkhovna Rada. By and large, the President's Office is already barely controlling parliament, and with some pressure, the entire structure will crumble. We need to closely monitor the signals from the Ukrainian parliament, they will make it clear what is happening on the sidelines," he explains.
President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky
Vladimir Oleinik, a former member of the Ukrainian parliament, believes that Zelensky's position is actually quite stable.
— It is clear that the Americans are now in a situation of a tough clinch with Zelensky, but the Europeans continue to provide support, declaring their readiness to increase arms supplies and increase financial assistance to Ukraine. We do not know if they have real opportunities for this, whether they are ready to go beyond words. But in any case, I don't think the situation in Kiev will change in the near future. In general, the trend for Zelensky is catastrophic, but right now he is in control of the domestic political situation, and assistance to Ukraine in one form or another will also continue to flow," he believes.
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