According to Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), the US intends to launch a campaign to undermine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in order to replace him with a more malleable person. According to the agency, former Interior Minister Arsen Avakov is being considered for the job. 

In a statement released on Tuesday, the SVR stated that "the American elite" is becoming increasingly unhappy with Zelensky as politicians on both sides of the aisle begin to "doubt the targeted spending of billions of dollars in military aid to Kiev."

Officials stated that Zelensky is engaging in "crazy steps" that threaten escalation "far beyond Ukraine," adding that Kiev “has moved to feverish action” as Zelensky tries to stay in power after the end of his official term in May. 

According to the agency, the United States is considering replacing him with a more controllable and less corrupt person who will appeal to the majority of the Western world.

Avakov, who became interior minister following the Western-backed coup in Kiev in 2014 and served until 2021, is one of the most "suitable" candidates under consideration, SVR noted.

According to the SVR, the US feels that Avakov has numerous advantages over other contenders, including intimate links to Ukrainian far-right parties and contact with EU officials. According to the agency, the White House believes that a change in leadership "will allow the West to better prepare for the possible start of negotiations with Russia to resolve the conflict."

Officials further stated that the possibility of Avakov taking over is being discussed with Ukrainian opposition figures, including former President Pyotr Poroshenko, former Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko, and important MPs from Zelensky's own party.

After taking over as interior minister, Avakov led a crackdown on forces resisting the Western-backed coup in Kiev. He also served in a similar position during the 2014 fire at Odessa's Trade Union House, which killed 42 people after a far-right mob pursued them inside. There has been no full trial in the ten years following the incident. The UN has condemned Kiev's passivity on this issue.

The former interior minister has also shown strong support for the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion. Allegations have surfaced that Avakov offered political support to the unit and assisted in the release of its head, Andrey Biletsky, who is widely recognized as a white nationalist.

US will sacrifice Zelensky after exhausting his 'usefulness': SVR

The legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fully relies on Western support, but the West will sacrifice him once Russia consolidates its successes on the battlefield, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) pointed out in June. 

"Washington and its satellites are happy with the situation since May 20, 2024, as the legitimacy of [Ukrainian President] Vladimir Zelensky now fully relies on Western support," the SVR said in a statement.

It emphasized that Zelensky's "Western patrons will easily sacrifice him when Russia consolidates its successes on the battlefield and depleted and demoralized Ukrainian forces find themselves against the ropes."

The SVR added that "having exhausted Zelensky’s ‘usefulness’ and realizing the futility of hoping for ‘Russia’s strategic defeat’, the White House will not pause to cast him off to the ash heap of history, replacing him with a Ukrainian politician who they believe can lead talks with Moscow on a peaceful settlement of the conflict."

It is noteworthy that Moscow regards Zelensky as a usurper, given that his five-year presidential term ended in May.

Russian President Vladimir Putin contends that, according to the Ukrainian constitution, the parliament remains legitimate, and presidential powers should have been transferred to its speaker after Zelensky’s term expired.