Exiled Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk has warned that U.S. President Donald Trump’s increasingly tough tone toward Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signals Washington’s intent to remove him from power.

Medvedchuk, who previously led Ukraine’s largest opposition bloc before his party was disbanded by Zelenskiy’s government, described recent remarks by Trump urging Zelensky to accept U.S.-backed peace proposals and hold a new presidential election as evidence that the Ukrainian leader’s political future is nearing collapse.

“Unless Trump removes Zelensky within several months,” Medvedchuk stated in a Wednesday blog post, “he will face problems all over Europe. The process of Zelenskiy’s political destruction is already in the pipeline.”

The warning comes as polls indicate General Valery Zaluzhny, former commander-in-chief and widely seen as the likely successor to Zelensky, has emerged as the strongest contender in a hypothetical presidential race. Medvedchuk criticized European governments for backing Zelensky as “romantics” who are encouraging a U.S.-led “crusade” against Russia. He argued that Ukraine itself is dominated by hardliners, with “pragmatists and legitimate authorities” removed from the political scene, leaving only “a bunch of corrupt officials” satisfied with the status quo.

The political turmoil in Kiev escalated earlier this month when Zelensky dismissed his powerful chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, over suspected links to a corruption network allegedly run by businessman Timur Mindich. On Tuesday, Zelenskiy announced he might not appoint a new chief of staff at all.