The leading contenders if Trump forces Zelensky out

Officials in Donald Trump’s administration have made public demands that Ukraine should change its president.

- SAM KILEY DAVID MADDOX

In private, lobbyists have worked to make the case for soft regime change in Kyiv in meetings with journalists and diplomats across Europe.

They may believe they’re working to “Make America Great Again” but they are nonetheless following a Kremlin playbook to delegitimise Volodymyr Zelensky. The effort may come to a head if President Zelensky returns to Washington to “make it right” with the US president following the breakdown of relations last week.

The collapse of the bilateral relationship immediately led to the American suspension of military aid to Ukraine and a “pause” in vital intelligence sharing – a massive boost to the Russian war effort at a time when the Kremlin’s forces have been stalling.

Part of getting Trump back into the pro-Ukrainian camp, some diplomats have speculated, is a demand Zelensky should step down in return for a mineral exploitation deal between the two countries and a release of the weapons and intelligence Ukraine needs to defend itself.

Trump himself has called the Ukrainian leader a “dictator” and, like successive Kremlin spokespeople, has repeatedly questioned how Zelensky can claim legitimacy when his term in office has expired. America will not get a choice about who takes over, but it appears Trump is nevertheless trying to influence the result.

The fact that there are now discussions about whether the US should use military aid to Ukraine as a lever to dislodge its president – the leader of a pro-Western European democracy – shows how far Putin is winning the information war. But the question for Zelensky’s enemies is: if not him, then who?

Ruslan Stefanchuk – the constitutional replacement