FLASH
Shkruar nga PamfletiThe British government is working to replace Zelensky as soon as possible with the extremely popular former Chief of Staff, whom the president himself wanted to dismiss in February 2024, sparking a wave of criticism that has yet to subside. He has been ambassador to London since then.
Volodymyr Zelensky's future political career is seriously at risk. The president is struggling to contain the fallout from a corruption, bribery and abuse of power scandal that has implicated the heads of state energy agencies, as well as ministers and senior officials, at an extremely delicate time for Ukraine.
His trajectory seems marked: from president, a hero of courage and resistance against the Russian invasion in February 2022, to a weak administrator of state affairs, incapable of managing a country at war in the long term.
"His main problem was and remains that he has no political experience. When he was elected in 2019, not yet 40 years old, he did not have a party that supported him. Until a few months ago, he had been an actor, and thus he placed his most loyal friends and associates in the most important positions. For him, loyalty and personal connections were more important than professionalism," explain journalists and commentators in Kiev almost in unison.
The most notable case is that of Timur Mindich, the 46-year-old entrepreneur who was Zelensky's partner in the production company and who launched him as a famous actor between Moscow and Kiev.
"Zelensky did not have the strength to free himself from characters like Mindich, who are now dragging him down," says political scientist Taras Semenyuk.
There is talk on campus of a free fall in his popularity. In a crisis of sympathy a year ago, polls gave him 90 percent support after his clash with Trump and Vance on February 28th in the White House, the same ratings he won by embodying the spirit of resistance against the Russians. But between May and August, his approval ratings fell from 65 to 58 percent.
“If the vote were held today, he would never be re-elected. The only way he can gain sympathy is to encourage investigations and immediately replace corrupt officials, as well as promise never to run again,” Katya Nesterenko, a presenter on the 1+1 TV channel, told us. Semenyuk also claims that the British government is working to replace Zelensky as soon as possible with the extremely popular former Chief of Staff, Valery Zaluzhny, whom the president himself wanted to dismiss in February 2024, triggering a 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 painted by soldiers on the walls of houses near the front lines in Donbas.
A harsh and deeply disturbing assessment comes from historian Yaroslav Hrytsak. "We have never been so close to the risk of national collapse. The country could explode for three main reasons: the Russian advance on the war fronts, facilitated by the Trump presidency, which has reduced military aid and political support; the economic crisis exacerbated by the bombing of the energy grid; and the moral and political crisis caused by the bribery scandal. The problem remains that we cannot hold elections under Russian bombs; we will have to wait until the war is over, but Zelensky is not helping us win it at all," he declares.
According to him, there are three national figures who could replace him: the already appointed Zaluzhny, the head of military intelligence Kyrylo Budanov, and Andry Biletsky, a right-wing nationalist politician linked to Azov Battalion circles and who is currently fighting at the front with the rank of brigadier general.
Some in military circles argue that, precisely because of the moral crisis caused by the scandal, Ukraine's survival is increasingly at risk. "It will be a miracle if we survive the winter," they say. On the other hand, there are still military units motivated to fight at all costs, regardless of who rules in Kiev.
The General Staff claims that, regardless of Zelensky's presence or absence, the front remains strong and, if Pokrovsk falls, the fight will continue for Konstantinovka, then Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. "We must be careful of Russian propaganda: it will use this to spread the old defeatist slogan that the resistance against Putin is fought by the rich at the expense of the poor. Now it will be easier to listen to it," says Hrytsakl./ Corriere della Sera
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