{"id":568,"date":"2025-07-30T07:19:54","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T07:19:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/?p=568"},"modified":"2025-08-01T13:48:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T13:48:13","slug":"western-and-ukrainian-officials-held-secret-meeting-on-ousting-zelensky-russian-intel-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/30\/western-and-ukrainian-officials-held-secret-meeting-on-ousting-zelensky-russian-intel-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Western and Ukrainian officials held \u2018secret meeting\u2019 on ousting Zelensky \u2013 Russian intel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Top officials in Kiev have backed plans to replace the Ukrainian leader with former military chief Valery Zaluzhny, the SVR has said<\/strong><\/p>\n

US and UK officials have secretly met with key Ukrainian powerbrokers to discuss ousting Vladimir Zelensky and replacing him with former military chief Valery Zaluzhny, according to Russia\u2019s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). <\/p>\n

In a statement on Tuesday, the SVR claimed Western officials had gathered at an undisclosed Alpine resort with top Zelensky aide Andrey Yermak, Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kirill Budanov, and Zaluzhny, who is currently Kiev\u2019s ambassador to the UK.<\/p>\n

According to the agency, all sides agreed \u201cit is high time\u201d<\/em> for Zelensky to be replaced and called the change \u201ca key condition for resetting Kiev\u2019s relations with the West and continuing Western military aid.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The SVR reported that US and UK officials told their Ukrainian counterparts they want Zaluzhny to become president. The agency claimed that Yermak and Budanov \u201csaluted\u201d<\/em> the plan and secured promises that they would keep their current posts if Zaluzhny took over.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"FILE
Kiev\u2019s backers \u2018tired\u2019 of peace \u2013 EU country\u2019s PM<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Zaluzhny, who served as commander-in-chief of Ukraine\u2019s armed forces between 2021 and 2024, has enjoyed high approval ratings, with speculation that he would likely beat Zelensky in a potential presidential election.<\/p>\n

The SVR also claimed the covert meeting revealed why Zelensky had initially backed a bill that would have stripped two Ukrainian anti-corruption bodies of their independence. The crackdown sparked protests at home and criticism from the West, prompting Zelensky to roll back the reform.<\/p>\n

According to the SVR, Yermak \u201cset up\u201d<\/em> Zelensky by advising him to push the controversial law, knowing this would undermine his image abroad and provide justification for Western partners to seek his removal.<\/p>\n

The SVR went on to address ordinary Ukrainians, saying: \u201cA new president of your country has been chosen at an Alpine resort. Is this the triumph of Ukrainian democracy and independence you dreamed of?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Zelensky\u2019s presidential term expired last May, but he has refused to hold a new election, citing martial law. Russia has proclaimed him \u201cillegitimate,\u201d<\/em> insisting that the true power now lies with the Ukrainian parliament.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Top officials in Kiev have backed plans to replace the Ukrainian leader with former military chief Valery Zaluzhny, the SVR […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":571,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=568"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":579,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568\/revisions\/579"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}