MOSCOW, March 7. /TASS/. The US could forcibly remove Vladimir Zelensky from Ukraine’s politics or even physically eliminate him — this view is growing among parliamentarians and political analysts following reports of contacts between Washington and Zelensky's political opponents.

"They are preparing the ground for Zelensky's replacement with a more accommodating figure for surrender," wrote Verkhovna Rada lawmaker Mariana Bezuglaya in her Telegram channel. "I do not rule out that Zelensky will be removed."

Political analyst Yury Romanenko shared in his Telegram channel that the United States allegedly has compromising material on "250 people who embezzled several tens of billions of dollars," using this information to exert pressure on the Ukrainian political elite.

"Everything will be quite predictable from now on," the expert suggested. "They will remove [Rada Speaker Ruslan] Stefanchuk and install a figure to whom [Russian President Vladimir] Putin will not have a strong aversion to negotiating with. Zelensky will follow the path of [ex-President of Ukraine Viktor] Yanukovich. As an unpleasant alternative, the CIA might propose a scenario similar to that of Salvador Allende," he said referring to Chilean President Salvador Allende who was assassinated during a coup.

On March 6, political and parliamentary sources confirmed to Ukrainian newspaper Strana that there were discussions between associates of US President Donald Trump and Zelensky’s possible challengers. They stated the talks focused on former Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny and Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko. Earlier, Politico reported, citing sources, that senior members of the US president's team held "secret meetings" with some of Zelensky's main political adversaries, including Yulia Timoshenko, leader of the Batkivshchina party, and representatives of the European Solidarity party of former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko (listed by Rosfinmonitoring as being involved in extremist activity or terrorism).

The Strana sources claimed that "Washington, with these contacts, intends to apply internal pressure on Zelensky to push him toward agreeing to a ceasefire," and is also evaluating "who can be trusted in a post-war Ukraine."