US, UK secretly discuss plan to ‘replace Zelensky’: Report

US and UK officials recently held a confidential meeting with Ukrainian officials in the Alps to discuss the potential “replacement” of President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to a report from Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) cited by TASS news agency.

The meeting allegedly involved senior Ukrainian figures such as Andrey Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office; Kirill Budanov, chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence in the Ukrainian Defense Ministry; and Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine’s former commander-in-chief who currently serves as ambassador to London.

The Russian intelligence service claimed that the Western representatives proposed Zaluzhny as a candidate to succeed Zelensky, with Ukrainian officials expressing their approval and securing assurances to retain their current roles and influence in future personnel decisions.

“The Americans and the British announced their intention to propose Zaluzhny for the Ukrainian presidency. Yermak and Budanov expressed their approval, securing promises from their Western counterparts to allow them to keep their current roles and to consider their interests in making future personnel decisions,” the SVR statement said.

The report further alleged that the discussion occurred despite Zelensky recently enacting legislation aimed at curtailing Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies following pressure from Yermak.

It also suggested that Western support for Ukraine’s ongoing conflict with Russia could be contingent on Zelensky’s removal, particularly after recent peace talks in Istanbul stalled.

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The report comes only a day after US President Donald Trump shortened his 50-day deadline for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine to “10 or 12 days,” warning of stalled progress and approving expanded weapons shipments to Kiev, including US-made Patriot systems financed by European partners and coordinated through NATO.

Analysts and commentators reacted to the intelligence leak with varying interpretations.

Hicheme Lehmici, secretary of the Geneva International Peace Research Institute, suggested Ukraine has effectively lost sovereignty in 2014, when a coup took place in Kiev and power fell into the hands of a new political leadership that "is actually implementing the Atlanticist agenda".

"One thing is certain: this leak [of information received by SVR] shows that Ukraine has turned into a kind of semi-colony for the Atlanticists, or an Anglo-Saxon condominium," Lemichi said.

Former Ukrainian prosecutor general’s adviser Andriy Telizhenko stated that plans to replace Zelensky predate Trump’s return to office, describing Zelensky as a “puppet” destined to be replaced once Western backers decide.

American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh recently identified Zaluzhny as “Zelensky’s most reliable successor,” citing Washington sources.

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