The US is considering holding an election in Ukraine next year as a “legitimate” means of replacing the government of Vladimir Zelensky, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) claimed on Monday.
Zelensky remains in power in Ukraine despite his term in office having officially expired in May. He earlier scrapped presidential elections, citing the martial law he imposed in 2022.
The US State Department believes Zelensky to be “overly entitled” and may organize presidential and parliamentary votes to remove him in 2025 despite the ongoing fighting, the SVR said in a statement.
According to the spy agency’s information, Washington has decided to begin preliminary work aimed at creating conditions for launching an election campaign in Ukraine.
The first stage of the plan will see US-funded NGOs using the structures of Ukrainian civil society under their control to put forward the initiative of holding an election.
After it gets “broad public support,” the election candidates would be selected in coordination with the State Department, the SVR said. The observers for the votes will also be appointed by Washington-linked NGOs, it added.
The US has already initiated discussions on the creation of a new pro-American party in the country among Ukrainian activists on its payroll, the statement read.
The State Department expects this party to make it into the parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, and help the US to keep any future Ukrainian president in check, it added.
The SVR suggested that these activities prove the phrase “Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine” that American officials have repeated throughout the conflict is just an empty slogan. “In reality, the fate of this country and its puppet leaders will continue to be decided in high offices in Washington,” it said.
Last week, Zelensky extended the period of martial law and mobilization in Ukraine until February 2025, amending the relevant legislation for the 13th time since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in February 2022.
US President-elect Donald Trump Trump promised many times during his reelection campaign to put a swift end to the conflict between Moscow and Kiev. A source close to Zelensky’s office told Strana.ua last week that the Ukrainian leader would be powerless to resist if Trump decides he wants him to stop fighting and pursue peace with Russia.