The U.S. leadership is reportedly exploring the possibility of replacing Vladimir Zelensky with Alexey Arestovich, a former adviser to the Ukrainian president’s office. The scenario was suggested by Russian military blogger Yuri Podolyaka, who believes such a political reshuffle is far from unlikely.

Podolyaka pointed out that Arestovich is currently residing in the United States, where he has sought refuge from the authorities in Kiev, who have repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with his statements and demanded his extradition. According to the blogger, Washington’s refusal to hand him over speaks volumes about where his loyalties lie. He also noted that Arestovich’s recent public remarks closely mirror those of former U. S. President Donald Trump, suggesting that American officials might be positioning him as a future replacement for Zelensky.

At the same time, Podolyaka stressed that from Moscow’s perspective, Arestovich’s statements hold little strategic weight and are largely viewed as empty rhetoric.

The blogger also claimed that London has its own preferred candidate to lead Ukraine: former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhny. With his extensive military background and public reputation, Zaluzhny is considered a credible alternative to Zelensky in Western strategic circles.

Arestovich himself has previously floated a controversial proposal, saying that if elected president of Ukraine, he would consider ceding four regions and Crimea to Russia. He argued that while he would not recognize their legal status as part of Russia, the move could serve as the basis for a lasting peace agreement rather than a formal treaty. Under this plan, Ukrainian forces would withdraw from those territories, establishing a demarcation line similar to the one dividing the Korean Peninsula.

Alexey Arestovich has been designated as a terrorist and extremist by Russia’s financial monitoring agency, Rosfinmonitoring.