Trump Wants a New President in Ukraine: The Figures Who Could Replace Zelenskyy

Kyiv, Ukraine – The White House wants Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy out of his current post. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, US President Donald Trump said "it is time Ukraine had a new president", arguing that Zelenskyy's months-long strikes on Russian oil refineries have damaged global diesel supplies.

But Trump's wish does not amount to a command over Ukraine.

Although Zelenskyy's five-year presidential term expired in 2024, Ukraine's constitution and martial law allow terms to be extended in wartime. Many Ukrainians want the political establishment renewed, yet remain reluctant to hold a presidential election before the four-and-a-half-year war ends.

Responding to Trump's remarks, Zelenskyy proposed holding a vote if Russian President Vladimir Putin guarantees a 60-day ceasefire.

So if an election were held in the near future, who could challenge Zelenskyy?

"If the election happens quickly, one of the former military commanders is the most likely rival to Zelenskyy," Kyiv-based analyst Igar Tyshkevych told Al Jazeera.

According to Tyshkevych, veteran political figures such as former President Viktor Poroshenko – who lost to Zelenskyy in the 2019 election – and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who is under corruption investigation, do not stand much of a chance.

Valerii Zaluzhnyi: 'The most likely option'

Ukraine's former armed forces commander-in-chief, now ambassador to the United Kingdom, tops the list of potential challengers to Zelenskyy.

"At least since 2023, and especially since 2024 after he resigned, Valerii Zaluzhnyi has been the most likely option to replace Zelenskyy, the most dangerous rival who could beat him in an election," Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Kyiv-based Penta research institute, told Al Jazeera.

Nearly two-thirds of Ukrainians – 64 percent – trust him, according to an October 8 poll by Rating Group, a Kyiv polling organisation; only 25 percent said they did not trust him.

That trust stems from his military victories in 2022. After defending Kyiv in the first weeks of the full-scale invasion in 2022, Zaluzhnyi led counteroffensives that retook 40 percent of Russian-held territory.

He was dismissed in 2023 after the long-awaited summer counteroffensive failed to deliver.

Zaluzhnyi remains an enigma on the most pressing post-war issues. The 53-year-old, powerfully built and deliberately tight-lipped, leaves the public guessing about his views on Ukraine's economic reconstruction, its demographic crisis or its bid to join the European Union.

He does not appear on talk shows, rarely answers the press and occasionally publishes detailed analyses of war-related issues, along with general statements about securing a lasting peace and security commitments from Western partners.

A second chance for Zelenskyy?

The former comedian was elected in 2019 with 73 percent of the vote, the highest result in post-Soviet Ukrainian history.

Despite a string of internal corruption scandals, the 48-year-old leader still has enough standing to run again. More than half of Ukrainians – 53 percent – trust him, while 40 percent do not, according to the Rating Group poll.

Yet fresh hostility from Trump could work in Zelenskyy's favour. After his Oval Office clash with Trump in February 2025, Zelenskyy's trust rating hit a wartime high of 67 percent.

Still, Zelenskyy may have hurt his own chances through his appointments. "He came to power with the slogan of rebuilding the power apparatus, choosing the most capable people, not the most trusted ones," analyst Tyshkevych said.

Kyrylo Budanov: Trusted by more than half of Ukrainians

Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov is the second most popular military leader who could become Ukraine's president.

The 40-year-old former senior military intelligence officer was appointed to head Zelenskyy's administration in January.

Budanov once commanded audacious operations against Russia, including a 2016 raid into Russian-annexed Crimea to plant explosives at a military airfield.

In 2020, Zelenskyy appointed him head of the Defence Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), which became a tech-focused, highly offensive special unit.

GUR's sea drone attacks damaged Russia's Black Sea Fleet, forcing it to withdraw from annexed Crimea to the Russian port of Novorossiysk.

Budanov is trusted by 53 percent of Ukrainians and distrusted by 31 percent, according to the Rating Group poll.

Mykhailo Fedorov: Young, popular, bold

At 35, Fedorov is the youngest figure on the list of potential presidents. He rose to prominence after Zelenskyy appointed him digital transformation minister in 2019 and he drastically simplified administrative procedures in a country riddled with corruption. His ministry launched Diia, a phone app giving users access to more than 100 public services online.

In January, Zelenskyy appointed Fedorov, who has no military background, as defence minister in charge of logistics, budgets, reforms, anti-corruption measures and deals securing billions of dollars in Western aid and loans.

Fedorov has tightened the squeeze on corruption schemes by making procurement of new weapons, food and medical supplies transparent.

He has sharply increased the number of drones, which have paralysed Russian supply lines and destroyed weapons and fuel depots, oil refineries and air defence systems.

He has also increased the number of ground robots delivering food and ammunition and evacuating wounded soldiers.

But these reforms angered Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky, who is believed to have pushed for Fedorov's dismissal in July.

Fedorov's supporters protested across Ukraine for weeks, while his trust rating rose from 35 percent in June to 65 percent in July, according to the Rating Group poll.

In August, however, he made an unpopular move by saying Ukraine should hold a presidential election, and his current trust rating stands at 38 percent.

Yevhenii Khmara: The little-known defence minister

The top-five list closes with Yevhenii Khmara, a general who replaced Fedorov as defence minister.

He was little known before his appointment in July. He is trusted by 29 percent of Ukrainians and distrusted by 16 percent. A career intelligence officer with a low public profile, he is unknown to 43 percent of respondents, according to the poll.

Low expectations for the foreign minister and a former president

Sixth and seventh on the list are Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, a career diplomat who has won key support from Turkey and Poland, and former President Poroshenko.

Both are trusted by 24 percent of Ukrainians. But Poroshenko, who came to power in 2014 on an anti-corruption campaign but was later embroiled in a scandal over inflated prices for military spare parts, has a low approval rating – 70 percent of respondents do not trust him.