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Figures and speeches: will replacing Zelensky with Zaluzhny bring Ukraine closer to peace
The appointment of former Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny as president of Ukraine does not guarantee a settlement of the conflict, experts interviewed by Izvestia said. According to the Foreign Intelligence Service, the United States and Great Britain organized a secret meeting in the Alps with representatives of Kiev, including Andrei Ermak, to discuss the candidacy of the current ambassador to London, the current head of the diplomatic department could become the first person of the state. According to intelligence, this explains, among other things, the recent restrictions in the work of anti-corruption structures in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Donald Trump officially reduced the "settlement period" to 10 days, threatening to impose import duties. Why the West is talking about replacing Zelensky again and whether elections can take place now is in the Izvestia article.
The election of the President of Ukraine in the Alps
Representatives of the United States and Great Britain recently organized a meeting in the Alps with the participation of Andrei Ermak, Kirill Budanov (listed by Rosfinmonitoring as a terrorist and extremist) and Valery Zaluzhny to discuss replacing Vladimir Zelensky, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service said.
"According to information received by the SVR, not so long ago, representatives of the United States and Great Britain organized a secret meeting in one of the Alpine resort towns with the participation of the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, A. Ermak, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, K. Budanov, and the former commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ambassador of Ukraine to London, V. Zaluzhny. The prospects of replacing V. Zelensky as head of the Kiev regime were discussed. All participants of the meeting agreed that the issue is long overdue," the message says.
On July 27, 2021, Valery Zaluzhny was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In May 2024, he became the Ambassador of Ukraine to the UK.
Representatives of Washington and London agreed to nominate Zaluzhny for the post of president of Ukraine, the SVR said. They added that Ermak and Budanov had secured "promises from the Anglo-Saxons" that they would retain their current posts, as well as take their interests into account when solving other personnel issues. Zelensky's change has essentially become a key condition for Kiev's "reset" of relations with Western partners, primarily Washington, and the continuation of Western assistance to Ukraine in its confrontation with Russia.
"The agreement reached in the Alps sheds light on the background of the recent scandalous attempt by the "president" to limit the powers of local anti-corruption structures. By clearing a political clearing for Zaluzhny, Yermak "framed" Zelensky — convinced him that such a step would not spoil Kiev's relations with Western partners, but in fact created a reason for the West to launch a campaign to remove the "overdue" from power as "encroaching on democracy," the SVR stressed.
On July 22, Vladimir Zelensky signed a law abolishing the independence of anti—corruption bodies - the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), specially created by the United States and the EU after the 2014 coup. Potentially, this can be considered as the elimination of the country's anti-corruption structures.
The document almost immediately caused a negative reaction in Brussels. EC President Ursula von der Leyen demanded clarifications from Zelensky, and European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos called the cancellation of guarantees for the independence of these bodies a serious step backward — both departments are necessary to continue Ukraine's path to EU membership. U.S. Senators Gene Shaheen and Lindsey Graham (listed as terrorists and extremists in Russia) also expressed concern about the decisions of the Kiev authorities.
Against this background, protests began to take place daily in Ukrainian cities. The pressure from the public and Western partners seemed to work. As a result, Zelensky submitted to the parliament a bill designed to give NABU and SAP "full-fledged guarantees of independence." But there is a caveat: six months after its entry into force, the SBU should conduct an audit of employees of the NABU, SAP, the office of the Prosecutor General, the national police with access to state secrets and other departments "for possible actions for the benefit of the Russian Federation."
Zelensky's Western curators did not seem to appreciate this move: the European Commission sent a warning to Kiev about a possible complete suspension of financial assistance, Ukrainian sources told Ekonomicheskaya Pravda and Evropeiskaya Pravda. And the protests in the country have not subsided.
How will Zaluzhny affect the negotiation process
Turning to the ratings, we can say that Valery Zaluzhny has a chance. His popularity in Ukrainian society is indeed much higher than Zelensky's, former Verkhovna Rada deputy Vladimir Voloshin tells Izvestia.
— The Western curators of Ukraine are well aware that a person must have some kind of legitimacy in the country. And on all issues, over the past, probably, one and a half to two years, Zaluzhny has definitely been ahead of Zelensky," he says.
Valery Zaluzhny
It is important to note that since May 2024, Vladimir Zelensky has become an illegitimate leader due to the expiration of his term of office. Now, especially against the background of decisions on NABU and SAP, he has a reputation for being deeply corrupt. In addition, more and more Ukrainians in the controlled territory are blaming him for the failure at the front, Voloshin emphasizes.
The situation on the battlefield is still spurring the negotiation process between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, although the results are still modest. The third round of meetings was held in Turkey on July 23. The parties agreed on a new prisoner exchange in the amount of at least 1.2 thousand from each side. Russia also offered Ukraine to transfer another 3,000 bodies of its dead soldiers and create three working groups that will work online: on humanitarian, political and military issues.
The negotiations took place against the backdrop of Donald Trump's ultimatum: on July 14, the US president promised to impose tariffs of 100% on imports from Russia, as well as secondary sanctions against countries that continue to purchase oil and gas from Russia if Moscow and Kiev do not agree within 50 days. However, the day before, the head of the White House said that he was "disappointed" with the progress in the settlement, and reduced the deadline to 10-12 days. The Kremlin reacted cautiously to the US president's statement.
—We took note of President Trump's statement yesterday," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that he "would like to avoid any assessments" of the American leader's words.
Later, on July 29, Trump confirmed that the United States wants to reach an agreement in 10 days, otherwise import duties will be imposed. At the same time, he said that the United States would increase oil production in the event of disruptions in the global energy sector.
The person of Zaluzhny does not contribute in any way to the settlement and de-escalation of the conflict, Bogdan Bezpalko, a political scientist and member of the Presidential Council on Interethnic Relations, tells Izvestia.
— It would make sense to formally start everything from scratch. For example, Dmitry Razumkov (deputy of the Verkhovna Rada. Unlike Zelensky, he is more negotiable. And Zaluzhny has the image of a man who allegedly destroyed almost half of the Russian army and who is extremely aggressive towards Russia," he said.
If Zaluzhny really somehow replaces Zelensky and Russia negotiates with him, it is necessary first to fully recognize his legitimacy. And Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed that agreements can only be concluded with legitimate representatives of Ukraine.
— I don't quite understand how he can become president now: elections are required for this, and preparations are required for them, and most importantly, money is needed to vote. Therefore, even with all the outgoing ones, assuming that this whole meeting took place and such decisions were actually made there, it is unclear how technically and when he will become president," Bezpalko says.
In any case, in order to hold elections, it is necessary to wait for the cessation of hostilities, and agreements with Russia on a truce on certain conditions have not yet been reached, Vladimir Zharikhin, deputy director of the Institute of CIS Countries, summed up Izvestia.
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