Trump’s Call for a New Ukrainian President: Who Might Step Into Zelenskyy’s Shoes?

On Saturday former U.S. President Donald Trump made a blunt statement that many in Kyiv took as a provocation: “It’s time for Ukraine to get a new president.” He added that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent strikes on Russian oil facilities had thrown diesel markets into chaos.

The comment, loud as ever, landed on a fragile battlefield of politics. Zelenskyy’s five‑year term technically ended in 2024, yet the Ukrainian constitution, bolstered by martial‑law provisions, lets him stay on until the war ends. Most Ukrainians are uneasy about rushing a vote while fighting rages on.

When Trump floated the idea of a fresh election, Zelenskyy responded with a conditional offer: a poll could happen if Vladimir Putin agreed to a 60‑day ceasefire. It’s a diplomatic dance, but it also forces the question – who could actually challenge the incumbent if a ballot were called?

Kyiv‑based political analyst Igar Tyshkevych told Al Jazeera that the most plausible rival would come from the military sphere. “If an election were called soon, a former commander would be Zelenskyy’s biggest competitor,” he said.

That’s where Valerii Zaluzhnyi enters the scene. The ex‑army chief, now Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, enjoys a solid 64 % trust rating in a recent Rating Group poll. His reputation stems from the 2022 defence of Kyiv and the subsequent counter‑offensives that reclaimed roughly 40 % of occupied territory. Though he was dismissed in 2023 after a stalled summer push, his silent, almost stoic public persona still resonates with many citizens who crave a seasoned war leader.

Another name making the rounds is Lieutenant‑General Kyrylo Budanov. The former head of military intelligence turned chief of Zelenskyy’s administration is praised for daring operations – from a 2016 raid on Crimea to the recent sea‑drone strikes that forced parts of the Russian Black Sea Fleet to retreat. A poll shows 53 % of Ukrainians trust him, with a relatively low mistrust level.

Then there’s Mykhailo Fedorov, the 35‑year‑old digital reformer who vaulted from minister of digital transformation to defence minister. He has no battlefield résumé, but his push for transparent procurement and the popular Diia app earned him a reputation as a modernizer. Younger voters, especially, see him as a fresh face who could steer Ukraine toward a post‑war reconstruction era.

Older political heavyweights – former President Petro Poroshenko and ex‑prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko – are largely dismissed by analysts as unlikely contenders. Their past defeats and, in Tymoshenko’s case, ongoing corruption investigations make them politically toxic in a country yearning for stability.

Zelenskyy, the former comedian who won a historic 73 % of the vote in 2019, still clings to a decent level of popularity: a little over half of respondents say they trust him. Yet his administration has faced a string of scandals, and his relationship with Trump soured after a 2025 Oval Office clash, pushing his approval to a wartime peak of 67 % before sliding again.

In short, if a Ukrainian election were forced ahead of the war’s end, the battlefield would likely see a contest between a war‑hero general, an intelligence chief with a daring résumé, and a tech‑savvy reformer. Whether any of them could actually unseat Zelenskyy remains an open question, but Trump’s comment has certainly lit the fuse for speculation across Kyiv and beyond.