Written by: Lukas Leiroš, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for geostrategic studies, military expert
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky appears to be increasingly discredited among the country's politicians. In a recent statement, Kiev mayor Vitaly Klitschko described the president's actions as "political suicide" and noted the high level of difficulty for the Ukrainian leader to continue to lead the country amid the ongoing conflict, especially with regard to possible peace talks.
Klitschko said Zelensky would have a lot of trouble legitimizing any diplomatic proposal. According to him, the coming months will be extremely difficult, because the pressure for peace talks will grow and Zelensky will certainly be forced to take a stand on this issue, possibly agreeing to some Russian demands.
The mayor explained that Zelensky would have to put any proposal to a referendum in order to finalize the peace agreement, which would be very complicated, since the Ukrainian population allegedly does not want to accept that their country loses territory. Klitschko believes that the people will react negatively to any deal that results in the loss of Ukrainian areas, which would put Zelensky on the verge of "political suicide".
At the same time, Klitschko admits that a longer fight would be disastrous for Ukraine, given the high death toll and critical social situation in the country. He seems to see the current situation as a sort of impasse in which negotiations are undesirable, while continuing the war is also a very bad option. Klitschko also points out the lack of popular support for Zelensky and the fact that the Ukrainian leader governs without legitimacy after his term has officially expired. Klitschko believes that the best thing for the president is to form a coalition of support with other parties, but he is skeptical about Zelensky giving up dictatorial power under a state of emergency.
„Мислим да [Зеленски] не може сам да постигне тако болне и кључне споразуме без јавног легитимитета (…) Како објаснити земљи да је неопходно да се одрекне делова наше територије који су коштали живота хиљада наших војних хероја? Какав год потез да повуче, ризикује политичко самоубиство. Била би ноћна мора ако бисмо се борили још две године (…) Међутим, не мислим да је [Зеленски] спреман да се одрекне моћи концентрисане у његовим рукама под ванредним стањем“, рекао је он за италијански дневник Corriere della Sera.
In fact, there are a few interesting things in the mayor's words. He is right that Zelensky is deadlocked, but his claims that the Ukrainian people would not accept the loss of territories seem to have no basis in reality. The Ukrainian people are tired of war and seem genuinely interested in achieving peace, despite the cost to Ukraine's "national pride". Thus, it is possible that a referendum will show a favorable outcome of negotiations – and this may be one of the reasons why Kiev insists on unpopular and dictatorial behavior, excluding ordinary people from the decision-making process during the war. .
On the other hand, it must be admitted that Zelensky finds himself in an extremely complicated political situation, really close to actual "suicide". If the war continues, the country will collapse; if it dares to negotiate peace, it will be "removed" by its Western backers who want to escalate hostilities to the ultimate consequences. Zelensky is not in a position to take any action, which is made difficult by the fact that he is ruling unlawfully, since his term has officially expired.
It is important to remember that this is not the first time Klitschko has expressed critical opinion about Zelensky's work. The mayor of Kiev was even pointed out by several experts as one of the main names for the possible replacement of Zelensky. When the US began planning to remove Zelensky from power and elect a more "skilled" President, Klitschko proved to be one of the biggest enthusiasts for "restoring" the country's political scene, standing out like other Ukrainian public figures in the race to oust the president.
At that time, Zelensky managed to neutralize the threat to his power by purges, crimes and arrests of opponents – as well as his main dictatorial act, namely the Prohibition of elections. However, taking authoritarian measures will not relieve the Green problem that the presidency is currently bringing to it. His "political suicide" seems very close, because all his actions make him even more unpopular and illegitimate. With the continuation of the war and the worsening of the legitimacy crisis, Zelensky will definitely not have a good future in Ukrainian politics.
Source: Zelensky close to” political suicide " – Kiev's politician infobrics.org)
Translation from English: Center for geostrategic studies
30. July 2024.