US, UK In Secret Talks With Ukrainian Officials To 'Replace Zelensky': Russian Intelligence Claims
The meeting allegedly included top Ukrainian officials such as Andrey Yermak, head of the presidential office; Kirill Budanov, head of Ukraine's military intelligence; and Valery Zaluzhny, the former commander-in-chief now serving as Ukraine's ambassador to the UK.
Given the high stature of these individuals, this is a massive claim, and it could be that Russian intelligence is is releasing such a report – even if unverified and/or possibly untrue – in order to sow discord, suspicion and paranoia within the Ukrainian presidency's office. But some recent independent reports in the West have also pointed to a key former top general being groomed as a potential successor.
TASS reports that the Western representatives at the meeting proposed Valery Zaluzhny as Zelensky's potential successor. He had long been Ukraine's most visible and celebrated general, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from 2021 until his controversial dismissal by Zelensky in 2024.
His dismissal from the top command post over the armed forces to now serve as Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom was widely seen as in effect a political exile of sorts.
The SVR and state media are claiming further that Yermak and Budanov accepted the US-UK proposal, securing assurances that they would retain their current roles and have influence over future appointments if Zaluzhny took power.
At the moment the European Union has made the unprecedented threat to cut off funding to Kiev, after Zelensky moved to undermine Ukraine's anti-corruption institutions, which was formalized in a law Zelensky signed this month.
President Trump has clearly been putting immense pressure on the Russian side after the latest round of failed talks in Istanbul, giving Putin just ten days to show serious progress toward negotiating peace – but could the same level of pressure now be on Zelensky behind the scenes?
The new claims out of Russian intelligence might not entirely be without merit, given recently legendary American journalist Seymour Hersh wrote an article titled The End of Zelensky?
The main thesis was that Zaluzhny is now seen by Washington insiders as the most credible successor to Zelensky, as seen in Hersh's introduction to the July 18 story below:
In fall of 2023, Ukrainian General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander in chief of the country's armed forces, gave an interview to the Economist and declared the war with Russia had become a 'stalemate.' It took three months for President Volodymyr Zelensky to fire him. The general, who is the most popular public figure in Ukraine, was named ambassador to London a month later and has served there with distinction, if quietly.
Zaluzhnyi is now seen as the most credible successor to Zelensky. I have been told by knowledgeable officials in Washington that that job could be his within a few months. Zelensky is on a short list for exile, if President Donald Trump decides to make the call. If Zelensky refuses to leave his office, as is most likely, an involved US official told me: 'He's going to go by force. The ball is in his court.' There are many in Washington and in Ukraine who believe that the escalating air war with Russia must end soon, while there's still a chance to make a settlement with its president, Vladimir Putin.
This week, Russian sources have been highlighting a suspiciously timed article and photoshoot featuring Gen. Zaluzhnyi in Vogue magazine…
Most recently, Vogue published Zaluzhny's column that outlines his "vision for Ukraine's future."After Zelensky's 2022 Vogue feature boosted his Western image, Zaluzhny's appearance in the fashion mag is most likely a political PR move.6/6 pic.twitter.com/pMK0cPng45 — Sputnik (@SputnikInt) July 29, 2025
At the same time, Zelensky – once Time's 'person of the year' (in 2022) – hasn't been featured of late in any more glam-filled western media photo shoots. His 'star power' has most definitely been fading in western capitals, also as populations are war-weary and desirous of peace in eastern Europe, but which would require Zelensky to make territorial concessions. He's refusing to do this.
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