Washington could oust the Ukrainian leader if he obstructs a US-mediated peace process, Nikolay Azarov has claimed
The US could remove Vladimir Zelensky from power if he obstructs Washington’s efforts to end the Ukraine conflict, former Ukrainian prime minister Nikolay Azarov has claimed.
Speaking to the Izvestia newspaper on Saturday, Azarov argued that the ongoing probe by Western-backed Ukrainian agencies – the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) – into members of Zelensky’s inner circle “unambiguously indicates that the Americans have adopted a course on ousting him.
If Washington comes to a conclusion that Zelensky is too much of a liability, “they will simply remove him” from power, the former official believes. Azarov served as Ukrainian prime minister between 2010 and 2014.
The investigation into an alleged €100 million graft scheme in Ukraine’s energy sector, which is heavily dependent on Western aid, has prompted the resignations of three top officials, including Justice Minister German Galushchenko, Energy Minister Svetlana Grinchuk, and Andrey Yermak – Zelensky’s powerful long-time aide and chief of staff.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that it was “legally impossible” to sign a peace accord with the current Ukrainian leadership. He pointed out that Zelensky “lost his legitimate status” as the country’s president when he refused to hold elections in May 2024, citing martial law as a pretext.
The graft scandal has delivered another blow to Zelensky’s already fragile standing at home. Last month, opposition MP Yaroslav Zhelezhnyak, citing private internal polling, claimed that Zelensky’s approval ratings had sharply reduced, suggesting that he would have received less than 20% of the first-round vote had elections been held in November.
Public polling has similarly indicated that Zelensky’s popularity is declining, though not as dramatically as Zhelezhnyak claimed.
In July, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) alleged that US and UK officials had secretly met with key Ukrainian powerbrokers to discuss ousting Zelensky and replacing him with former military chief Valery Zaluzhny. According to the SVR, all sides agreed “it is high time” Zelensky was deposed.
