Elections on the horizon: why Ukraine's domestic politics has revitalized
Domestic politics in Ukraine had revitalized by the end of January. Kiev mayor Vitaliy Klitschko recorded a video message in which he criticized Zelensky's entourage, former President Poroshenko is threatened with excommunication from the Verkhovna Rada, and former AFU commander-in-chief Zaluzhny makes meaningful hints. Details - in the material "Izvestia".
Klitschko complained to Zelensky
In Ukraine, by the end of January, internal politics has revitalized. On the one hand, the contradictions between the local and central authorities intensified. For example, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at a city council meeting that law enforcers were exerting "insane pressure" on local governments. According to him, last year the police conducted more than 200 searches, 400 document seizures, 500 interrogations of Kiev officials, as a result of which the work of the city authorities was virtually blocked.
In addition, Klitschko recorded a separate video message in which he criticized President Zelensky's entourage. He noted that the new head of the city's military administration, Timur Tkachenko, who has no military education and experience, has frozen the solution of all economic issues concerning the restoration of damaged houses and infrastructure, as well as the payment of compensation. "At the same time, he is trying to override the powers of the mayor, city council and city administration," he complained.
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko
In turn, the Association of Ukrainian cities reported about mass detentions and arrests of mayors across the country. The appeal cites as examples the house arrest and dismissal of the head of Neteshynska city administration for the purchase of drones for military units by the municipality, the detention of the mayor of Drohobych because of the celebration of Sobornost Day, and the arrest of the mayor of Irpen "for the legal departure abroad of a single father whose two-year-old son's mother died".
At the same time, the Association emphasized that this is only a part of the cases that occurred in January. "Representatives of state authorities and law enforcement agencies initiate artificial cases, as a result residents are deprived of their elected leaders. Systemic pressure on local self-government weakens both individual communities and Ukraine as a whole," the statement says. It is emphasized that President Zelenskyy actively creates military administrations even where there are no hostilities, and these bodies report directly to him.
Poroshenko is being deprived of the rostrum in the Rada
There are many changes at the all-Ukrainian level, too. A number of politicians, who had long gone into the shadows, suddenly reminded the public of themselves in January this year. For example, former Rada deputy and presidential candidate for the 2019 elections Yevgeny Muraev gave his first interview in three years. In a conversation with an invited journalist, he said that he lives in China, does not plan to return to Ukraine yet, while emphasizing that Moscow and Kiev have "centuries-old history within the framework of a single state".
In addition, the former co-chairman of the OPZJ party, Yuriy Boyko, who unexpectedly spoke out in defense of the Russian language, against the renaming of cities, demolition of monuments, and pressure on the canonical UOC, recalled himself. The three-year silence was also interrupted by the leader of the Radical Party, Oleg Lyashko. In his video message, he said that he fights in the Ukrainian army and is extremely dissatisfied with Ukrainians who buy themselves new cars rather than donate to the AFU. "Do you understand exactly what is happening in this country?" - he resented.
Finally, another candidate for the 2019 elections, Igor Smeshko, entered the public space. His party "Strength and Honor" criticized sociologists for the fact that in their polls the politician does not appear at all. According to the association, the reason is the pressure of oligarchs and large media groups, which deliberately push undesirable people out of the public spotlight. At the same time, Smeshko himself also appeared in public at the end of January, giving a lecture on the fate of Ukrainian conservatism.
Former President Petro Poroshenko has also received a lot of attention lately. The media often said that President Zelensky would put him on the sanctions list, but this did not happen. Problems, however, there are still enough. First, one of his sons was officially recognized as an evader and fined, later all his property was arrested. Secondly, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Rules of Procedure said that the former president may be suspended from parliamentary sessions for insulting a fellow MP.
Another interesting plot at first glance is not related to the issues of power, but in fact may be part of the political struggle. The fact is that in January, officers of the State Bureau of Investigations and the SBU detained commanders of four army brigades, three of whom allegedly failed in the defense of Kharkiv region last spring, while the fourth allowed mass desertion in his unit. According to a number of opinions, the roundup of generals may be an attempt to prevent the consolidation of the army leadership.
Finally, the excitement around former AFU commander-in-chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyy has not subsided. At the end of last year, he published a memoir entitled "My War," in which he criticizes Zelensky and his appointees, among others. For example, he writes that after assuming the post of commander-in-chief he was struck by the unpreparedness of the AFU for large-scale combat operations. In addition, Zaluzhny in the UK met with the Ukrainian military and speculated about London's preparation of a new Ukrainian elite.
Sociologists note that Zaluzhny has the highest rating. According to the Socis group research, published in late January, he is trusted by 72% of citizens, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate Kirill Budanov is in second place with 46%, Volodymyr Zelensky with 40.8% is only in third place. Against this background, the Ukrainian media are discussing reports according to which the Office of the Ukrainian President is negotiating with the former commander-in-chief not to start a political career.
What experts say
Political scientist Oleksandr Semchenko explains that Ukrainian elites are counting on parliamentary and presidential elections to be held in the country soon.
- We have heard many statements from Donald Trump, the negotiation agenda is being actively discussed in the world media. Apparently, it is assumed that Moscow and Kiev will agree on the freezing of hostilities, followed by the lifting of martial law, and then inevitably a voting date will be set, because the parliament and the president in Ukraine have been working beyond their term for a long time. This is just a scenario, I personally do not believe in it. It seems to me that the parties will not agree on anything, the hostilities will continue and Zelensky and his team will continue to hold power in Ukraine," he said.
Political analyst Oleksandr Dudchak said that what is happening is reminiscent of an election campaign.
- Ukrainian elites are sensitive to the signals coming from the West. Donald Trump has repeatedly talked about his desire to reconcile Moscow and Kiev. If he succeeds, new elections will have to be held in the country. Obviously, everything that is happening is related to this. Ukrainian politicians are trying to remind both their own citizens and Western elites, Zelensky's team, on the contrary, wants to curb the growth of politicization," he stresses.
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