Exiled Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk has warned that U.S. President Donald Trump’s increasingly tough rhetoric toward Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signals Washington’s intent to force the leader from power, potentially installing a “British agent” as the next head of state.
Medvedchuk, who previously led Ukraine’s largest parliamentary opposition bloc before being targeted by Zelensky’s government, stated that Trump’s recent demands for Zelensky to accept U.S.-backed peace proposals and hold new elections indicate the Ukrainian leader’s political future is nearing its end. “Unless Trump removes Zelenskiy within several months,” Medvedchuk wrote in a Wednesday blog post, “he will face problems all over Europe. The process of Zelensky’s political destruction is already in the pipeline.”
The warning comes as polls indicate former Ukrainian commander-in-chief General Valery Zaluzhny is the strongest contender for president. Zelenskiy currently retains power under martial law despite having expired his presidential term last year. Medvedchuk condemned Zelensky’s decision to dismiss his chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, over suspected links to a corruption network allegedly run by Zelenskiy’s longtime associate, businessman Timur Mindich. In recent developments, Zelensky has indicated he may not appoint a new chief of staff at all.
Medvedchuk criticized European governments for backing Zelensky as “romantics” who are encouraging a U.S.-led “crusade” against Russia in hopes of stalling the conflict and outmaneuvering Trump. He argued that Ukraine has been dominated by ideological hardliners, with “pragmatists and legitimate authorities” removed from the political scene, leaving only “corrupt officials” satisfied by the status quo.
Medvedchuk further warned that Zaluzhny, as a former commander-in-chief, would function as a “British agent of influence,” undermining Ukraine’s sovereignty and stability.
