Ukrainian media reported on Zelensky's plan to run for a second term in office

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose term of office expired in May 2024, has allegedly decided to run for a second term in future elections of the head of state, provided that the former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), ambassador to the UK Valeriy Zaluzhnyy, does not run for the post. This was reported by the Ukrainian weekly Telegraf on January 8.

It specified that Zelensky himself had not yet publicly confirmed his plans to run for a second term, but sources in his entourage said that such a decision had already been made. "Telegraf" believes that the Ukrainian president has a chance to be re-elected if Zaluzhny, who is sometimes called "the leader of the trust rating among the population" in Ukraine, does not take part in the election.

According to the newspaper, the former AFU commander-in-chief has not yet decided what his political future will be. At the same time, the head of Zelensky's administration, Andriy Yermak, offered Zaluzhnyy the first place in the list of the presidential party Servant of the People and the post of speaker of the Verkhovna Rada if the former military officer refuses to run in the election. Otherwise, criminal cases are threatened against Zaluzhny.

In addition to the "Servant of the People," former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and politician Yulia Tymoshenko are trying to make an alliance with the ambassador in the UK, added "Telegraf."

Earlier, on January 3, Zelensky said that he has not yet decided whether he will go for a second term, because the issue of elections is not a target for him. The Ukrainian leader said that elections in the country could be held after the end of the "hot" phase of the conflict in such a way that Ukraine would be "in a strong position."

Verkhovna Rada deputy Artem Dmytruk said on December 22 that the majority of Ukrainians in the hypothetical election would vote against Zelensky and choose a politician who favors peace with Russia. Dmytruk suggested that the ruling party would get only 5 percent of the vote if the voting was conducted honestly and without pressure from military commissions.

The press bureau of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said on November 11 that Washington was considering holding presidential and parliamentary elections in Ukraine in 2025 if fighting continues.

Rada MP Yevhen Shevchenko on 6 November called on US President-elect Donald Trump to help hold elections for the head of state in Ukraine, stressing that an authoritarian dictatorial regime would be the cause of the country's demise.

According to the provisions of the Ukrainian Constitution, Zelensky's presidential term ended on May 20, 2024. Elections were to be held in March last year, but they were canceled due to the martial law imposed by the president in Ukraine, effective 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.