Kyiv’s political circles are discussing how long Zelensky will remain in power, – Financial Times

The world is witnessing the “final act” of Volodymyr Zelensky’s presidency.

This statement was made by a senior Ukrainian official in an interview with the Financial Times.

According to the publication, political circles in Kyiv are already discussing how long Zelensky will remain in power after his “Oval Office fiasco,” while the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump does not hide its desire to work with a new Ukrainian leader.

“The Trump administration will likely turn away from Zelensky if he resists a deal (to end the war in Ukraine) that he finds unacceptable. The U.S. president has already questioned the legitimacy of the Ukrainian leader, calling him a ‘dictator’—a narrative promoted by the Kremlin—and has called for new elections. Some of Trump’s allies have urged Zelensky to resign following his confrontation with the president in the Oval Office. Ukrainian officials see this as a destabilization campaign inspired by Moscow, which will create divisions in Ukrainian society at a particularly difficult time,” FT writes.

Opposition politicians, while publicly supporting Zelensky after his conflict with Trump, are “actually preparing for elections, forming alliances, testing public messages,” and establishing connections with the White House and Republicans, the publication notes.

The European Solidarity party of Petro Poroshenko stated that Zelensky “remains selfish, self-absorbed, and arrogant in his relations both within Ukraine and with international partners.”

Polls indicate that former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and current Ukrainian Ambassador to the UK, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, would achieve a decisive victory over Zelensky, though he “may not be the more compliant president that Washington is seeking.”