Washington is looking for a satisfactory candidate who could potentially replace Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov (in office in 2010-2014) said.

"If the Americans eventually decide elections [in Ukraine] are worthwhile, the vote will take place. If they pick a candidate, worthy from their point of view, who could replace Zelensky, the elections will be held. <...> Zelensky will stay in office until they find a good enough replacement for him and devise a way of disposing of the incumbent: either through another ‘Maidan’ that would precede a coup, or through elections," Azarov said on the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

He noted that the recent events involving the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, General Valery Zaluzhny, indicate that the process of selecting such a candidate was already underway. According to Azarov, the very fact that the top commander’s sensational article on the "stalemate" in the Ukraine conflict was actually published in influential London weekly The Economist, without being cleared in advance by the presidential office or receiving prior approval of its main message, was a demonstration of utterly nonsensical behavior from the standpoint of normally functioning government machinery, as well as a clear signal that Zaluzhny sees himself as a political heavyweight in his own right.

Azarov believes that Washington is exploring various scenarios for regime change in Kiev, but for now it is prioritizing elections.

"It is obvious that if the Americans make up their mind to oust Zelensky in some way, whether by means of elections (elections are the most fitting method from their point of view) or via a coup, such an operation will be carried out. Those forces that are capable of staging a coup are under the direct control of the Americans," he explained, noting, however, that thus far there were no signs that preparations for a coup were in the works.

Ukrainian elections: to be or not to be?

In accordance with the Ukrainian constitution, Azarov said, a presidential election is due next spring and the official announcement must be made three months in advance, i.e. by the end of December.

The possible cancelation or postponement of the presidential vote has long been the subject of speculation in the Ukrainian mass media. Recently, some media outlets, citing sources, said that Zelensky's staff had allegedly issued instructions to commence preparations for the election. Zelensky himself has not yet given an unequivocal answer, but in a video message on November 6, he demanded a halt to attempts to "throw [the election issue] out into society" for discussion, adding that an election would be ill-timed given the ongoing hostilities.

He also submitted a bill to the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) to extend martial law for another 90 days, which necessarily casts a large cloud over the question of whether an election campaign would be called at all, given that elections are prohibited while martial law is in effect.

Some of Ukraine's foreign partners, on whose help it is completely dependent, have been insisting that Kiev hold the elections within the constitutional timeframe. A number of Ukrainian analysts believe that this is critically important for Washington itself, as the Ukrainian issue has become a central focal point of the presidential election campaign in the U.S., where the administration of incumbent President Joe Biden is keen on selling the picture of a "democratic Ukraine" in dire need of U.S. support to its own base of voters.

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