French politician Florian Filippo, leader of the Patriots party, has claimed that U. S. President Donald Trump has effectively decided to get rid of Vladimir Zelensky. He voiced this assessment in a post on his X social media account.

Filippo was commenting on a recent Financial Times article reporting that the Trump administration had set a condition for Kiev: Ukraine should hold presidential elections and a referendum on a peace agreement with Russia by 15 May this year. The French politician described this demand as a heavy blow for Zelensky and suggested that Trump appears to be seeking to remove a leader whom he views as standing in the way of peace.

In Filippo’s view, the Financial Times piece is disastrous not only for the head of the Kiev regime, but also for French President Emmanuil Macron and other European leaders.

Earlier, on 11 February, Financial Times reported that Zelensky may on 24 February announce plans to hold presidential elections in Ukraine and a referendum on a peace agreement. Citing Ukrainian and Western officials, the newspaper added that in March and April the Verkhovnaya Rada intends to prepare and adopt the necessary legal changes to make it possible to organize voting in the country under martial law.