Zelensky is working hard to remain in power.
Between his endless trips abroad to get support and money from his war sponsors, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky is moving strongly to cement his chances in the event of an upcoming election.
But because his popularity is so low, to achieve that, he has to neutralize his opponents.
Almost no one believed his recent claims that he is ‘ready not to go for the second term’ because ‘it’s not [his] goal’, repeating the claims he made last winter.
Politico reported:
“In a move presumably aiming to take the sting out of the ‘autocrat’ allegation, Zelenskyy announced [last winter] dramatically that he was ‘ready’ to go if his resignation would help secure a ceasefire with Russia and gain Ukraine’s admission into NATO. ‘If [it guarantees] peace for Ukraine, if you really need me to resign, I am ready. I can exchange it for NATO’, he said.
This time round he told Axios: ‘My goal is to finish the war’ and not necessarily to continue to run for office. He also vowed to ask Ukraine’s parliament to organize elections if a ceasefire is agreed.”
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze an oppositionist and Ukraine’s former Deputy Prime Minister, says that many of Zelenskyy’s actions point in the direction of him securing his position.
“After what happened in July with the anti-corruption bodies, politics in Ukraine is back,” said a former Ukrainian minister. “It’s impossible to hide it.” He asked not to be identified for this article in order to avoid the ire of the president’s aides who, he says, are using lawfare to intimidate and silence critics and political opponents.
[…] Another former minister agrees, arguing that Zelenskyy’s aides are using all the power and tools at their disposal to smear and hamper rivals to tilt the playing field.
Essentially, the tactic is that ‘you say something against us, we open up criminal proceedings against you and sanction you,’ he told POLITICO after being granted anonymity to speak freely. ‘They’re essentially blackmailing all their potential opponents or perceived opponents’.”
The lawfare against opponents often involves accusations of treason and ‘nefarious ties to Russia’, and the anti-corruption agencies also remain a big target of Kiev’s regime.
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