Four Ukrainian politicians and officials have emerged as potential contenders in discussions about who could succeed President Volodymyr Zelensky, after US President Donald Trump called for Ukraine to elect a new leader.

Axar.az reports, citing Newsweek, that Trump said on Saturday it was time for Ukraine to have a new president, renewing debate over elections that Ukrainian law prohibits under martial law.

Zelensky said Ukrainian authorities would organize elections if Russia agreed to a 60-day total ceasefire. Kyiv has also argued that holding a safe vote would be difficult while the country remains under Russian attack.

The four figures discussed as potential contenders are former commander-in-chief and current ambassador to the UK Valerii Zaluzhnyi, presidential chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov, former defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov and former president Petro Poroshenko.

According to a Rating Group survey cited by Newsweek, nearly 23% of respondents said they would vote for Zelensky in a hypothetical election, while more than one-fifth backed Zaluzhnyi. The survey also found that 64% trusted Zaluzhnyi, compared with 53% for Zelensky.

Zaluzhnyi has not confirmed whether he intends to run.

Budanov, the former head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, has served as Zelensky’s chief of staff since early 2026. The survey found that 53% of respondents trusted him, while 6.7% said they would vote for him in the first round of a hypothetical election.

Budanov has not publicly declared any presidential ambitions.

According to the survey, 38% of respondents trusted Fedorov and 7.6% said they would vote for him in a hypothetical first round.

Political analyst Jenny Mathers told Newsweek that Poroshenko was among the less likely potential contenders.

Zelensky has not confirmed whether he will seek a second term. The Newsweek report cited a separate survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology indicating that a majority of Ukrainians believed he should not run again, while 71% opposed holding elections immediately.