Report: US has intensified efforts to find replacement for Ukraine’s Zelensky
The United States has ramped up its search for an alternative to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to Russia’s foreign intelligence service (SVR).
Sputnik news agency reported on Monday that the SVR had received information that the West was actively engaged in discussions to find a substitute for Zelensky due to Kiev's failures both on the battlefield against Russia and on the home front.
“Zelensky is clearly beginning to lose the fight for the 'minds and hearts' of the people of Ukraine, especially since his legitimacy as president will be completely lost after the expiry of his five-year term on May 20,” the report cited SVR.
SVR said it had received reports that Petro Poroshenko, Vitali Klitschko, Andriy Yermak, Valery Zaluzhny, and former speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament Dmytro Razumkov had been approached by the West as possible substitutes.
The report said Washington believed a quick substitute could be needed in the event of a sudden deterioration on the battlefield that would necessitate an urgent change in leadership.
Washington believes, in the current situation, the main objective is to prevent Ukrainians’ further disappointment with Kiev’s failures in its pursuit of pro-Western policies, SVR said.
The American and European warmongers would “prefer to keep Zelensky in office for now,” SVR said, since the “schemes for financing the war” have been built around him, and are “bringing in enormous profits for both representatives of the Kiev regime, and Western arms manufacturers.”
The report said a surge in desertion cases among the military of the armed forces of Ukraine was another source of concern for the US-led alliance backing the Kiev regime.
There have been numerous reports of more and more Ukrainian forces refusing to carry out combat missions and even risking being shot in the back by units stationed behind them in an effort to prevent them from retreating from the battlefield.
In February 2022, Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine to “de-Nazify” and “de-militarize” the country seeking NATO membership.
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