Zelensky threatens chief political rival with criminal charges – media
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky could press criminal charges against former Army Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny, should he decide to run for the presidency, Kiev-based Telegraf reported on Wednesday. Zelensky has refused to hold elections or leave office after he cancelled a vote scheduled for May 2024, citing the conflict with Russia. A new election date has yet to be set.
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. “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.
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 sitting leader.
If Zaluzhny runs for president, however, he could face criminal investigations, including a probe into the 2022 fall of the city of Kherson to Russian forces, the outlet reported. 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, 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 has come 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.
