Reports indicate a plan to remove the Ukrainian president in late December 2023, described by Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky in an interview with a British publication. The public outline suggests the move could involve a wide range of measures, with Zelensky noting that all available tools would be used to achieve the objective.
Zelensky also warned that the precise steps of the plan might shift and that eliminating the plan itself could be more important than any single action. He stressed that holding presidential elections in Ukraine in March 2024 has been canceled, arguing that detaining those plans under martial law would be illegal.
During a November 17 meeting with foreign journalists, Zelensky claimed that Russia aims to fracture Ukrainian society by provoking a new Maidan style event, referred to as “Maidan-3.” He said intelligence agencies and Ukraine’s partners had corroborated the information, though the specifics remained unclear.
In response, the State Duma commented on Zelensky’s remarks, quoting him as saying, “I prepared it myself,” in reference to a potential Maidan-3 scenario. A former journalist later explained who might organize such an uprising in Ukraine and how outside influence could factor into the unrest.