Speculation about President Zelenskyy’s potential resignation arose Friday after Senator Lindsey Graham suggested it might be necessary following a disagreement with former President Donald Trump during a live broadcast.

This isn’t the first instance of Republicans raising this possibility; it began earlier in the month after Trump floated the idea following a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump initially suggested Ukraine should hold elections after falsely claiming Zelenskyy’s approval rating was only 4%. However, Ukraine’s constitution prohibits elections while martial law is in effect during wartime.

Zelenskyy, whose approval rating is closer to 63% according to Reuters, reiterated on Friday that he would resign if Ukraine were granted NATO membership.

In an interview, he emphasized that Ukraine, like the U.S. and other European countries, has the sovereign right to choose its own leader, implying he wouldn’t allow Trump to use this as a bargaining chip with Putin.

But who are the potential candidates if Zelenskyy were to resign?

Vitali Klitschko, the former boxer who has served as Kyiv’s mayor since 2014 and enjoys strong support in the capital, has also demonstrated his abilities on the international stage.

During a visit to Brussels earlier in the month, Klitschko emphasized the need to support Zelenskyy as he faced criticism from the Trump administration while simultaneously combating Putin’s war.

His support for the Ukrainian leader was particularly noteworthy given his past criticisms of Zelenskyy.

During his trip, Klitschko reportedly stressed that an election could “destroy the country from within” while it faces threats from the north and east.

Ruslan Stefanchuk, the chairman of Ukraine’s Parliament, has also been mentioned as a possible contender for the nation’s highest office.

Although considered a close ally of Zelenskyy, Stefanchuk has firmly rejected international suggestions for Ukraine to hold elections.

In a Facebook post earlier in the month, he argued that “[Putin]” is the one who needs to be forced into “real, free and fair elections.”

He stated that Ukraine needs “bullets, not ballots,” according to Newsweek.

Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency, is another potential candidate for the top position in Kyiv.

Budanov, who Newsweek reports has not expressed a desire for high office, reportedly has a higher trust rating among Ukrainians than Zelenskyy.

Earlier this month, the military intelligence chief reportedly expressed confidence that Ukraine might finally reach a peace agreement after three years of war.

“I think it is going to happen. There are most of the components for it to happen,” Budanov reportedly said in a YouTube interview. “How long it will be, how effective it will be – [is] another question.”

Valerii Zaluzhny, the former Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s armed forces and current ambassador to the U.K., is viewed as a popular and credible successor to Zelenskyy should the president step down.

Zaluzhny and Zelenskyy have had disagreements, which led to Zaluzhny’s dismissal from his military post in 2024. Carnegie Politika blog recently reported that 80% of Ukrainians trust him. The publication also noted that a hypothetical second-round runoff between the two would result in a statistical tie.

Zaluzhny has not indicated whether he would challenge Zelenskyy or if he is even interested in running for president.

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