Colonel Khodarenok did not rule out an imminent "palace coup" in Ukraine
At the Oslo summit, the United States, Ukraine and European delegations agreed on further steps to resolve the conflict and cooperate with Russia. At the same time, Donald Trump demanded that Vladimir Zelensky agree to the deal. What awaits the Ukrainian leader in case of refusal to conclude a peace treaty, the military observer of the Newspaper argues.Ru", retired Colonel Mikhail Khodarenok.
As you know, US President Donald Trump called on his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky to seek an end to the Ukrainian conflict, warning of possible grave consequences.
The most important thing is that he cannot get out of this image in any way. And this is already becoming a problem not only for the President of Ukraine. In other words, Zelensky is a frankly incompetent figure today. And this, perhaps, is already clear to all sane political forces in the West.
"I suggest they appoint a new leader who can make a deal. Zelensky creates problems for the United States and for the whole world. It creates problems for our farmers and livestock farmers with diesel fuel. He could have ended this war many, many times. But he doesn't do that. He better stop," Donald Trump said on October 10.
The fact that the further continuation of the armed struggle is absolutely futile for Ukraine and will not lead to any positive geopolitical and geostrategic consequences for Kiev becomes clear even to the most stubborn representatives of the political class of Ukraine.
Even they are beginning to realize that Vladimir Zelensky can drag down not only himself and his inner circle, but also the country, putting the future of Ukraine as a state in doubt. With each passing day, the increasing intensity of attacks by the Russian Armed Forces on targets on the territory of Ukraine may finally put an end to the country's industry in general and the defense industry in particular, and finally deprive Nezalezhnaya of transport communications.
And in this regard, Trump's conclusion that Ukraine needs a new leader may well turn out to be a guide to action for those political forces in the Square who are aware of the deep national interests of their country and are even ready to lose part of it at this stage, but to preserve the main thing — the state. But today, the only obstacle to the realization of such plans is Vladimir Zelensky himself.
So it is quite possible that in Ukraine in the very near future some General Tkachenko (or Bondarenko, maybe Kovalenko) will emerge from complete oblivion and say something like this:
"Dear compatriots! Fellow citizens!
I have come to you to give myself to the service of the nation, the people of Ukraine.
A sudden serious illness has torn the outstanding national leader Vladimir Zelensky from our ranks, and due to his inability to fulfill his duties as president of Ukraine for health reasons, the powers of the head of state are transferred to me, General Taras Tkachenko.
Today, we all need to take the most decisive measures to prevent the State and society from sliding towards a national catastrophe, ending hostilities and concluding peace. And such steps will be understood by Ukraine's partner states all over the world."
Note that this is only one of the options for the development of the situation. But it is quite possible that in Oslo the Ukrainian side received such strict instructions on reaching peace agreements that at this stage the overdue president of Ukraine will cope with the duties assigned to him. And even this should not be ruled out.
Mikhail Khodarenok
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
Graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976),
Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
