Donald Trump is ready to dump Volodymyr Zelensky . After yesterday's harsh attack, the US president is already working to change the leadership of Ukraine.
The British newspaper Economist wrote this today, evoking the name of General Valery Zaluzhny as a possible successor , the former popular commander of the Ukrainian forces who was ousted by Zelensky and sent to London as ambassador.
The Economist then cites a poll according to which the current president has 52% of the consensus, his historical low after having been at 90%. And he would be overwhelmed by Zaluzhny with 65% of the votes against 30 in a hypothetical electoral challenge between two people .
Zaluzhny , who is 49, has in the past been credited by Ukrainian and international media and commentators as a "hero" and "the savior of Ukraine" as the architect of the strategy that is believed to have helped derail Moscow's initial advance towards Kiev soon after the launch of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 .
Appointed chief of defense staff by Zelensky himself in July 2021 , at just 45 years old, he was however removed - despite the alleged contrary opinion of the US commanders and other allies - about a year ago , to be replaced by General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Russian by birth and former head of the army.
A change justified by the desire to give life to a structural "reform" of Kiev's armed forces in the face of further challenges, and which then resulted in the marginalization of the former commander in the position of ambassador to the United Kingdom. But which several analysts had instead linked to fears due to Zalunzhny's personal popularity and also to his more cautious attitude than that of the presidential entourage on war plans with Russia after the failure of the so-called Ukrainian counteroffensive of 2023: an attitude likely incompatible with the idea of an incursion into a part of the Russian border region of Kursk , attempted later without appreciable results compared to the hopes of distracting Russian forces to try to stop their gradual advance in Donbass.
The Minerals Affair and Trump's Statements on Russia
Trump's anger against Zelensky was triggered not so much by the peace talks, from which Kiev has been excluded for the time being, but by the Ukrainian president's rejection of the draft agreement presented by the US on minerals . The US administration expected Kiev, in exchange for military and economic aid, to give Washington access to 50% of Ukraine's strategic minerals .
On Air Force One, the tycoon spoke to the BBC, saying that Moscow "has the credentials" to participate in any peace talks because "it has gained territory." "I think the Russians really want the war to end, they have the credentials because they have gained a lot of territory. So yes, I think they want peace."
Fly
And, as if in a correspondence of loving feelings, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov defends Trump from the attacks of Zelensky , who accused the US president of being influenced by Russian disinformation: " The Ukrainian president makes unacceptable statements about the leaders of other states. The fact that support for Zelensky among Ukrainians is declining is an obvious and indisputable trend ."
Peskov also lashed out at the idea (news published by the Telegraph) of British Prime Minister Keir Stramer, who is preparing to present Trump with a plan to send about 30,000 European soldiers to Ukraine to maintain a possible peace agreement. The Kremlin spokesman expressed "concern" about the news, stating that "the deployment of military contingents of NATO countries on Ukrainian territory cannot be acceptable to us" .
Europe
France, on the other hand, intervenes in defense of the Ukrainian president: " He is a hero, the only dictator in this war is Putin ," says the minister responsible for Europe, Benjamin Haddad , who also confirms the mission next week to Washington of President Macron, who "will carry the voice of Europeans and say that the future of Ukraine cannot be decided without them."
Our Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also intervened on the Trump-Zelensky clash: «The words of the new US administration are always strong and there are some cracks in the relationship, but it is in our interest for the situation to calm down and for peace to be achieved, without dwelling on words », he told Radio 24. «Trump's language does not belong to us, we need to keep our nerves steady», added Tajani, recalling that Zelensky was «elected and always supported by the Americans. I remember that it was the old Trump administration that brought Zelensky to Europe through the embassy in Brussels» .
(Unioneonline/L)