The Ukrainian leader believes he will win the next election only if unchallenged by General Valery Zaluzhny, Telegraf reports
Valery Zaluzhny. © Getty Images Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky could press criminal charges against former military chief Valery Zaluzhny if he challenges him in the next presidential election, Ukrainian outlet Telegraf reported on Wednesday. Zelensky refused to hold elections and step down as president last year, citing the conflict with Russia, and a new date for the vote remains unclear. According to Telegraf, Zelensky has already decided to run in the next election, with the earliest possible date being May 2025. The timing depends on developments in the conflict and whether US President-elect Donald Trump manages to mediate the conflict. “With a trust rating of 52%, Zelensky still has a chance to win,” Telegraf noted. However, Zelensky’s chances plunge if Zaluzhny, who is currently Kiev’s ambassador to the UK and is considered the Ukrainian leader’s “main rival,” enters the race.
Read more Zelensky is reportedly using a carrot-and-stick strategy to dissuade Zaluzhny from running. His administration is said to have offered the former general the top spot in Zelensky’s party and the role of parliamentary speaker if he agrees to back the president. However, if Zaluzhny runs for president, he could face criminal investigations, including a probe into the 2022 fall of the city of Kherson to Russian forces. Sources suggested that Zaluzhny’s name could be tied to the case at a politically opportune moment. The entire Kherson Region voted to join Russia in a referendum in autumn 2022, but the city itself was later abandoned by Russian forces. The Defense Ministry cited a strategic regrouping and logistical issues as the reasons for the withdrawal. Zaluzhny has not disclosed his political intentions, telling Telegraf: “First, we preserve the state. Then, we talk politics.” One member of former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko’s team described him as a “mythic figure” for many Ukrainians, an “ordinary man” embodying the national spirit. Zelensky’s trust rating has dropped from 90% at the start of the conflict in 2022 to 52% in December 2024, according to the Kiev International Institute of Sociology. The decline came amid battlefield setbacks and a controversial mobilization campaign. Russia has stated that peace talks with Zelensky will only be possible if he wins an election to restore his legitimacy. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the only legitimate power in Ukraine right now is the parliament and its speaker.
