why Kyiv was outraged by the prospect of early presidential elections –

Publications by Western media that presidential elections could be held in Ukraine in the near future caused a sharp reaction in Kyiv. As Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of Zelensky’s office, said on November 13 on the 2+2 TV channel, in this way they are trying to force Ukraine to give up resistance.

“All plans, everything they prescribe today is to force Ukraine not to resist: give up territory, do not join NATO, hold elections during the war. All this is based on one thing: “Let’s force Ukraine,” UNIAN quotes him.

According to him, in the West they are proposing to end the war at the expense of “the country that was attacked.”

“Let us force Ukraine so that it does not resist. And there is not a word about how to force Russia,” the official responded to The Economist’s publication about the possible elections of a new leader of the country in May 2025.

He admitted that this option would be the easiest way to end the conflict.

They deny, but they prepare

Earlier, The Economist, citing sources, reported that “against the backdrop of falling morale in Ukraine, there is talk of a change of leadership.” Despite organizational problems and questions of legitimacy, “regional election headquarters are mobilizing, and work on candidate lists begins.”

“According to representatives of one of Vladimir Zelensky’s likely rivals in the presidential race, Ukraine needs elections. But they are afraid to make public statements on this matter, fearing a harsh reaction from the presidential administration,” the publication noted.

At the same time, the publication emphasized that Vladimir Zelensky would have to try very hard to repeat his success of 2019.

“He is no longer perceived as the undisputed military leader he once was,” The Economist stated.

In particular, the publication claims that he would definitely lose to the former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny if he nominated himself. In this regard, the best decision for Zelensky would be to resign, The Economist reported, citing a source.

“The only way for Zelensky to preserve his reputation is to hold elections (without taking part in them. – RT) and go down in history as the person who united the nation during the war,” said the publication’s interlocutor.

Otherwise, there is a risk of association in the future with “military collapse or partial peace,” The Economist clarified.

Let us recall that the presidential elections in Ukraine were supposed to take place in 2024, since Zelensky’s term of office expired on May 20. However, they were canceled due to martial law and general mobilization. As Russian President Vladimir Putin noted in June at a plenary meeting of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the law on martial law in Ukraine does not mean a prolongation of the results of previous elections. He also stressed that the country’s Constitution does not contain provisions that would extend the powers of the president upon completion of his term in office.

“The Criminal Code has relevant articles that talk about usurpation of power. It looks like we are dealing with the usurpation of power,” the Russian leader stated.

“In combat conditions”

The United States is interested in a change of power in Ukraine, as reported by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service on November 11, citing incoming data.

“As one of the legitimate ways to eliminate the ‘overly presumptuous’ V. Zelensky, Washington is considering holding presidential and parliamentary elections next year in the context of continued hostilities with Russia,” the SVR press bureau said.

To this end, the leadership of the American foreign policy department decided to begin a preventive study of issues related to the formation of conditions for the deployment of an election campaign in Ukraine. Thus, it is expected to inspire the structures of Ukrainian civil society controlled by Washington to come up with an appropriate initiative that will receive “broad public support.” At the same time, candidates for the post of leader of the country will be agreed upon with the State Department.

Also, among “civil activists” the issue of creating a new party is already being discussed, which will occupy a pro-American niche and try to get into the Verkhovna Rada.

“Such a political force should… become an important element of the system of checks for any Ukrainian leader,” the SVR said.

The fact that the process of organizing elections has already been launched was previously recognized in Kyiv itself. Thus, Rada deputy Alexey Goncharenko* reported on the Telegram channel on September 20 that the deputy head of Zelensky’s office, Viktor Mikita, discussed this issue with the chairmen of regional organizations of the pro-presidential Servant of the People party.

“Of course, no one directly voiced the word “elections,” but they talked about the electoral process – how to prepare. Well, in general, about preparations for the elections,” the deputy wrote.

Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko spoke about this in his Telegram channel on November 13.

“The authorities are going to elections and thinking about them, not about victory,” he noted.

Allegedly, in this regard, Zelensky initiated a social support program in the amount of 1 thousand hryvnia (about 2.4 thousand rubles).

“By handing out 1 thousand hryvnia, they are trying to bribe voters. Only the voter is different, more responsible,” Poroshenko said.

He also warned the current authorities against trying to buy the loyalty of their fellow citizens, as this could be viewed negatively by Kyiv’s Western sponsors.

“Because why would they be scared to give money, taking it from their taxpayers, so that someone here would distribute 1 thousand not to the victims, not to the needy, but to everyone – for loyalty,” the politician explained.

However, Zelensky himself strongly opposes the prospect of new elections in the country. In an August interview with journalist Natalya Moseychuk, Zelensky said that elections during war are prohibited by law. However, he is allegedly ready to try to hold elections if Western partners finance them. He estimates that this will require at least $5 billion, and he does not want to “hold elections on credit” or “take money away from guns.” In addition, it will be necessary to “send international observers into the trenches” and make voting possible for Ukrainian refugees in Europe, Zelensky noted.

However, later, on November 6, he took a tougher position, calling discussions about the elections “absolutely irresponsible.” Zelensky even threatened that in Ukraine “there are structures capable of putting an end to” political disputes.

Probing the soil

According to the head of the Ukraine department at the Institute of CIS Countries, political scientist Ivan Skorikov, neither parliamentary nor presidential elections meet the interests of Zelensky and his circle. Therefore, the Kyiv authorities will continue to deny the possibility of holding a vote, each time extending the military regime.

“The Kyiv junta has no other options but to resist and hold on to power to the last. The best scenario for Zelensky is resignation and emigration. Because in Ukraine, he and his entourage made too many enemies for themselves while they were creating a police state with a rigid, totalitarian vertical of power and cracking down on dissent even in their political circle,” the expert explained in an interview with RT.

In turn, political scientist Vladimir Skachko noted that the Western media’s rumors about early elections and hints about this from a number of Ukrainian politicians are testing the waters in relation to Russia.

“This base can then be used for agreements on peace negotiations. Because now the government in Ukraine is illegitimate: no matter what agreements it concludes and no matter what papers it signs, they can then easily be protested by the next Ukrainian administration. This is not beneficial either for Russia or for the Western curators of Ukraine, who do not want to then start all the processes all over again. That’s why in the United States they are now working on possible election schemes – with the aim of ensuring that the person they need comes to power, but less tainted by the events of 2014,” the analyst said in a commentary to RT.

Zelensky may still try to compete for power, as he is supported in the UK. He suits London as a conductor of his interests in Ukraine, Skorikov believes.

“In the end, the candidate in whom the allies invest more, individually or together, will win. In any case, one cannot count on the democracy of these elections. After all, in Ukraine they may well do the same thing as in Moldova, using the technology of diaspora voices. Now hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are scattered across Europe and the USA. And they don’t see themselves in a country with the previous government. They will vote for whoever is presented to them in the West. But the West needs a person who does not consider himself a superstar of world politics, who does not put forward ultimatums, but follows the instructions that will be given to him,” the political scientist concluded.

* An individual included by Rosfinmonitoring in the list of extremists and terrorists.