Regime Change In Kyiv? US Peace Plan Demands Ukraine Hold Rapid Elections After Signing

Russia says it has yet to receive anything official from the United States regarding the new draft Trump-backed plan for ending the war in Ukraine. And already several media headlines say Ukraine and European leaders are signaling their rejection of it, as it presents too much of a compromise.

We’ve examined the widely leaked US plan for peace and its 28 points here, but one particular part of it which really stands out as objectionable from the Zelensky government’s point of view is the demand for Kiev to hold elections within 100 days of the truce being signed.

Point number 25 of the 28 stipulates as follows: Ukraine will hold elections in 100 days. This is of course something Zelensky has resisted for years, arguing that martial law under the Ukrainian constitutions allows for the indefinite suspension of national elections.

His term expired in May 2024, but earlier this year he responded to allegations of simply wanting to hold on to power by asserting, “I’m focusing on the survival of our country, and I am doing it really all my term.”

“I’m ready to speak about elections if you want,” he had said, claiming that “Ukrainians don’t want, totally don’t want, because they are afraid, because otherwise we will lose the military loan, the war loan, our soldiers will come back home, and Putin will occupy all our territory.”

However, public confidence in his government has been waning, especially as top leaders have been embroiled in an embarrassing corruption scandal, leading to the dismissal of several ministers and aides.

Last February, Zelensky actually floated the possibility of stepping down if it would lead to peace, but appeared to attach it to NATO membership. “I am ready to leave my post if it brings peace. Or exchange it for NATO,” Zelensky had said in response to journalists’ questions at security summit.

Interestingly, the draft peace document does provide ‘Article 5-style’ security guarantees for Ukraine, but also requires the country pledge to never join NATO. Below are a few of the points taken from the document which relate to no more NATO expansion – something which Moscow has long demanded as a precondition to ending the conflict:

• It is expected that Russia will not invade neighboring countries and NATO will not expand further.
• Ukraine agrees to enshrine in its constitution that it will not join NATO, and NATO agrees to include in its statutes a provision that Ukraine will not be admitted in the future.
• NATO agrees not to station troops in Ukraine.

The above points are also interesting as they represent a tacit admission that NATO expansion was indeed a key cause of the war. This is something which prior Biden officials, as well as an array of mainstream pundits, have long sought to deny, calling it a ‘pro-Russian’ talking point.

As for the call for quick elections after the document’s signing, one geopolitical analysts notes this would be in keeping with Putin’s aims in the ‘special military operation’ – and that it would constitute the “regime change” the Kremlin has been seeking in Kiev.

The analyst writes:

Russia’s unstated goal of regime change in Ukraine would likely be fulfilled through these means since Zelensky’s popularity was already plummeting even before the latest corruption scandal dealt a deathblow to it. Given the knowledge of this point in the Russian-Ukrainian peace deal that Russia and the US have reportedly been working on in secret, the timing of this latest scandal initiated by the US-backed “National Anti-Corruption Bureau” can be seen in retrospect as a de facto coup against Zelensky.

While Europe too might agree to a ‘new face’ in Kiev, especially given the embarrassing levels of graft still ongoing in Ukraine’s government, others in the EU and NATO are likely to rally behind Zelensky.

❗️Without Donbas and a strong army. The US and russia “plan” promotes Ukraine’s capitulation, — FT journalist

This plan includes:
▪️halving Ukraine’s army
▪️giving up certain weapons
▪️giving up Donbas pic.twitter.com/truGxgY2D0

— Angelica Shalagina🇺🇦 (@angelshalagina) November 19, 2025

Meanwhile Ukrainians are already chafing under the immense pressure being brought to bear on Zelensky to accept the deal, with US military leaders (unusually) in Kiev discussing the plan with the president and his top aides.