Coup in Ukraine? Russia claims US-UK planning to oust Zelensky and replace him with former Ukrainian Army chief
Resetting Kiev-West relations and aid continuity
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Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service ( SVR ) has accused the United States and the United Kingdom of orchestrating a secret plan to remove Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and install former Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valery Zaluzhny , as the new president, reported TASS According to the SVR, a clandestine meeting was held in an Alpine resort involving high-level Ukrainian officials Andrey Yermak (head of Zelensky's presidential office), Kirill Budanov (chief of Ukraine's Defense Ministry intelligence), and Valery Zaluzhny himself, alongside US and UK representatives. During this meeting, the Western allies purportedly decided to support Zaluzhny's candidacy for the presidency.The SVR alleges that Yermak and Budanov quickly agreed ('snapped a salute') to this decision after securing promises from the US and UK to allow them to retain their current influential positions and have their interests taken into account in future Ukrainian personnel decisions.According to Russian intelligence as reported by TASS, this secret arrangement sheds light on recent political maneuvers within Ukraine, notably Zelensky's controversial attempts to restrict the powers of local anti-corruption agencies. The SVR claims that these moves were engineered by Yermak to clear the political field for Zaluzhny's subsequent rise and provided a pretext for Western powers to paint Zelensky's administration as authoritarian, thereby justifying plans to remove him from power in the name of defending democracy.Zelensky's attempts to curb independent anti-corruption bodies had sparked protests in Ukraine and criticism from Western governments, which contributed to political instability. Following backlash, Zelensky even submitted a bill reversing the curtailment to reinforce the powers of these watchdogs, though with conditions such as security vetting of employees six months later.The SVR asserts that the decision to replace Zelensky with Zaluzhny was framed as a necessary step to 'reset' Ukraine's relations with Western partners, particularly Washington , and to ensure continued military and financial aid amid Ukraine's ongoing conflict with Russia.Russian officials question the democratic legitimacy of a top-level political decision made in secret at a foreign resort, asking Ukrainians if this is the democracy, independence, and self-determination they dreamed of.Valery Zaluzhny served as Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces until early 2025 and currently acts as Ukraine's ambassador to the United Kingdom. He is credited with significant military leadership during Ukraine's resistance in the ongoing war. The SVR claims that both Western countries and certain Ukrainian officials see Zaluzhny as a preferable successor to Zelensky.No official statements have been issued by the US, UK, or Ukrainian governments to confirm or deny the SVR's allegations.
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