Newsweek: Russia claims ‘NATO is plotting to oust Zelensky’

NATO really was never interested in Ukrainian Zelensky. The historical photo – he is all alone stands on the side after a July 2023 group photo with leaders of NATO countries in Vilnius, Lithuania. All alone…
Photo: Getty Images

NATO member states are plotting to oust Ukrainian Zelensky from power by discrediting him, and then holding elections to switch up leadership in the war-torn country, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) claimed, Newsweek quotes.

The SVR said NATO is guided by the uncertainty regarding the continuation of military aid to Kyiv from the new U.S. administration led by President Donald Trump. NATO hopes to "freeze" the conflict, however Zelensky remains the main obstacle to the implementation of such a plan, it said.

Trump, who entered office for a second term on January 20, has vowed to bring a swift end to the war, and anticipation is growing for the prospect of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. The U.S. leader has threatened further tariffs and sanctions on Russia if President Vladimir Putin doesn't end the war.

Zelensky has so far rejected Russia's demands that Ukraine concede its occupied territory and give up its aspirations to join NATO.

NATO "is increasingly thinking about a change of power in Ukraine," the SVR press service said.

The NATO military alliance intends to carry out a large-scale operation to discredit the Ukrainian president by accusing him of misappropriating more than $1.5 billion from funds allocated for the purchase of ammunition, the SVR's press service said.

"Brussels is proceeding from the fact that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will very soon be unable to contain the growing onslaught of the Russian army," it said.

NATO intends to get rid of Zelensky by holding "pseudo-democratic elections" in Ukraine no later than this fall, the SVR claimed.

Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, told Reuters that Washington wants Kyiv to hold elections by the end of the year, as "most democratic nations have elections in their time of war."

"I think it is good for democracy. That's the beauty of a solid democracy, you have more than one person potentially running," said Kellogg.

Putin meanwhile has claimed Zelensky doesn't have the right to sign any documents in potential peace deals, as he has lost legitimacy because the country hasn't been able to carry out presidential elections due to the ongoing war.

Moscow has long sought to discredit the Ukrainian government by claiming that Zelensky is an illegitimate president, although martial law prohibits elections during wartime for safety reasons.

Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said: "Even NATO understands that the days of 'expired' Zelensky are numbered. It's just a pity that this understanding came at the cost of the lives of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens."

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio: "We think what the dishonesty that existed is that we somehow led people to believe that Ukraine would be able to push Russia back to what the world looked like in 2012 or 2014 before the Russians took Crimea. And the result what they have been asking for is to fund a protracted stalemate in which human suffering continues... and it has to end."

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