There are those who are thinking of Zaluzhny or Budanov to replace him: “But beware of Russian propaganda“
The future political career of Volodymyr Zelensky is seriously affected. The president flounders as he tries to control the consequences of the corruption scandal, bribes and malfeasance which affected the heads of state energy agencies, as well as ministers and senior officials, at a very delicate moment for Ukraine.
His parable seems marked: from a president who was a hero of courage and resistance against the Russian invasion in February 2022, to a bad administrator of state affairs, unable to manage the country at war in the long term. «His main problem was and remains that he has no political experience. When he was elected not yet 40 years old in 2019 he did not have a party behind him. Until a few months earlier he had been an actor and thus placed his most faithful friends and collaborators in the most important seats. For him, loyalty and personal bond were worth more than professionalism.”journalists and commentators in Kiev explain almost in chorus.
The most striking case is that of Timur Mindichthe 46-year-old impresario who was Zelensky’s partner in the production company and launched him as a famous actor between Moscow and Kiev. «Zelensky did not have the strength to get rid of people like Mindichwho are now taking it to the bottom,” says political scientist Taras Semenyuk.
In university circles they talk about a popularity rate in free fall. In a crisis of sympathy a year ago, the polls gave him 90 percent of the vote after the clash with Trump e Vance last February 28 at the White House, the same applause he had obtained by embodying the spirit of resistance against the Russians. But between May and August the consensus dropped from 65 to 58 percent.
«If he were to vote today he would never be re-elected. The only way he can seek sympathy is to favor investigations and immediately replace the corrupt, as well as promising that he will never run for election again”, says Katya Nesterenko, presenter of the 1+1 television channel. Again for Semenyuk, the British government is apparently working to replace Zelensky as soon as possible with the former chief of staff, the very popular Valery Zaluzhnywhom the president himself wanted to fire in February 2024, unleashing a strong wave of criticism that has not yet subsided. Since then, Zaluzhny has been ambassador to London. To this day it is still possible to find images of his face stamped by soldiers on the walls of houses near the front lines of Donbass.
A vitriolic and very worried opinion comes from historian Yaroslav Hrytsak. «We have never been so close to the risk of national collapse. The country could implode for three main reasons: the Russians advancing on the war fronts facilitated by the Trump presidency, which has reduced military aid and political support; the economic crisis worsened by bombings on the energy network; the moral and political crisis due to the bribery scandal. The problem remains that we cannot hold elections under Russian bombs, we will have to wait for the end of the war, but Zelensky does not help us win it at all”, he says.
According to him, there are three national figures who could replace him: the already mentioned Zaluzhny, the head of military intelligence Kyrylo Budanov and Andry Biletsky, a nationalist right-wing politician linked to Azov Battalion circles and who today fights on the front with the rank of brigadier general.
In military circles there are those who argue that, precisely because of the moral crisis triggered by the scandal, Ukraine’s survival is increasingly at risk. «It will be a miracle if we get through the winter», they say. On the other hand, there are still military units motivated to fight at all costs and regardless of who governs in Kiev.
The general staff maintains that, regardless of Zelensky’s presence or absence, the front remains solid and, if Pokrovsk were to fall, the war will continue through Kostantinivka, then Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. Hrytsak comments: «We must be careful of Russian propaganda: will take the opportunity to spread the old defeatist slogan according to which the resistance against Putin is fought by the rich to the detriment of the poor. Now you will find it easier to listen.”
