Medvedchuk over Zelenskyy — what Russia wanted at an early war

The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that in the early war days, Russia wanted to replace him with pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk. According to the Head of State, so-called negotiators even came to him with Russian demands.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it during his conversation with representatives of the International Media Council.

Zelenskyy underlined that he had never met with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Turkey and had never negotiated with him. However, according to the President of Ukraine, the Kremlin leader always tries to give him an ultimatum.

"In the early days of the full-scale war, someone from Ukraine came to me with some papers and handed me an ultimatum from Putin. They said I had to step aside, they would replace me with the pro-Russian Medvedchuk," the President said. 

In addition, they demanded that Donbas be recognized as part of the Russian Federation, that the Constitution be amended to recognize Ukraine as neutral, that the Army be reduced to 50,000 people, and that all arms with a range of more than 20 km be destroyed or transferred to Russia.

As a reminder, during his speech at the World Forum in Davos, Zelenskyy claimed that Putin cannot be spoken to on an equal footing, as he understands only the language of force. 

In addition, the President of Ukraine explained how the US and Russia keep in touch.