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Zero change seen from Zelensky's potential replacement by army chief — diplomat

"It is virtually impossible to name even one independent player from among this crew," Maria Zakharova said

MOSCOW, December 12. /TASS/. The possible elevation to power of General Valery Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, as a replacement for Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky would not change the situation in the Ukrainian conflict one iota, since neither of them is an independent actor, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"The possible replacement of Zelensky by Zaluzhny, or any other player, would do nothing to change the situation; they are all just various ranks of puppets whose strings are being pulled by the hands of their [puppet] masters, which include the US, its satellites, the UK and so on," the diplomat said. "It is virtually impossible to name even one independent player from among this crew."

A statement by Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin released by the SVR on Monday, says that the intelligence agency is continuing to receive reliable reports that senior officials from leading Western countries are increasingly discussing the need to replace the incumbent Ukrainian president with someone else.

According to the SVR’s data, Western governments are considering Zaluzhny, former Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Alexey Arestovich (designated in Russia as a terrorist and extremist), Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko and Ukrainian Presidential Office Head Andrey Yermak as potential candidates to take the place of Zelensky.

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Ukraine crisis Foreign policy Maria Zakharova

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