Political expert: US may demand removal of Putin from Russian elites
Photo: Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin (GettyImages)
The administration of US President Joe Biden has not set a goal to remove Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, this may be required by Donald Trump's team, states political expert Taras Zahorodnii in a comment to the RBC-Ukraine YouTube channel.
In his opinion, the Biden administration accepted Putin as he is and did not plan to remove him from office. In this way, the US effectively played into the hands of the Russians. However, the administration of newly elected US President Donald Trump may raise this issue with the Russian elites.
"Meaning, remove this psycho, how you choose him — we don’t know, but there will be a conversation later. Until then, we will give Ukraine everything it needs. Such a situation may arise. Moreover, Trump is the kind of person who could even issue an order for Putin's elimination. Because during his term, Trump broke an unwritten rule," Zahorodnyi said.
He reminded about the elimination of the commander of the Iranian elite special forces, Qasem Soleimani, by the Americans.
The expert also recalled one of the statements by Trump's chosen special representative for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, regarding the fact that Russia would be obligated to rebuild Ukraine at its own expense. This is essentially reparations, which would be a humiliation for the Russians.
He also believes that the issue of de-occupation of Ukraine may not be raised as long as Putin is in power.
"Let me translate what this means diplomatically. The Russian elites are being told: 'Ladies and gentlemen, either you remove this psycho now and pay this amount, or sooner or later, this psycho will die of natural causes or disappear in some way, and you will pay more, but in the end, you will have to give everything back.' So, they are being put on a fork," the expert said.
Trump's plan to end the war in Ukraine
Donald Trump has stated his intention to quickly end the war between Russia and Ukraine, promising to do so within the first 24 hours of his presidency.
According to Reuters, three key scenarios for ending the war are currently being considered. These are proposed by special representative Keith Kellogg, Vice President-elect JD Vance, and former acting head of intelligence Richard Grenell. The main idea of all the options is to freeze the conflict at the current line of separation.
In Zelenskyy's opinion, Trump could be decisive in ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. He may help stop Putin.
For more details on what Trump is preparing for Ukraine and whether there are chances for the war to end in 2025, read the material by RBC-Ukraine.
