Times pointed to Zelensky's declining re-election chances

Due to the declining popularity of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (his term of office expired on May 20), his chances of re-election are very low. This was reported by the British newspaper The Times on November 30.

According to the newspaper, only 16% of Ukrainians would support his re-election, while 60% opposed his candidacy for office.

The piece reports that despite Zelensky's victory in 2019, corruption scandals and heavy losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in the conflict have significantly lowered his ratings.

The Times notes that the country's lowering of the draft age to 18 could lead to an even greater drop in the Ukrainian leader's ratings.

Earlier, on November 11, the press bureau of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said that Washington was considering holding presidential and parliamentary elections in Ukraine in 2025 amid continuing hostilities with Russia.

Prior to that, on November 6, Rada deputy Yevhen Shevchenko called on the winner of the US presidential election, Republican Donald Trump, to help hold elections for the head of state in Ukraine and said that an authoritarian dictatorial regime would ruin the country. The deputy speaker of the Rada, Oleksandr Kornienko, in turn, asked Trump to do the maximum for the re-election of the Ukrainian parliament.

According to the provisions of the Ukrainian constitution, Zelensky's presidential term ended on May 20. Elections were to be held in March this year, but they were canceled due to the martial law imposed by the president in Ukraine, valid from February 24, 2022.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on 17 May that the issue of the legitimacy of the president should be resolved within the Ukrainian state, while the issue of the legality of the Ukrainian political leader in office remains important for Russia.