Political rotations are accelerating in Ukraine due to accumulated problems. And here's why
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- Political rotations are accelerating in Ukraine due to accumulated problems. And here's why
Since the beginning of the year, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has begun a rapid personnel rotation. At the same time, he actively cooperates with some representatives of the opposition and at the same time oppresses others. What these processes are related to is in the Izvestia material.
Domestic political instability
• The political upheavals in Kiev are primarily related to the fact that the presidential elections, which were supposed to take place in March 2024, did not take place due to martial law. However, this does not suit Western countries, which would like to create the appearance of a legitimate presidential election in Ukraine. At the same time, Russia, despite its independence, has held all levels of elections, from presidential to municipal.
• Ukraine's problems are not limited to the legitimacy of the current regime. In November 2025, a major corruption scandal broke out in Ukraine around Energoatom, at the center of which was businessman Timur Mindich from Zelensky's inner circle, as well as former and current high-ranking officials (we talked about this case in more detail here). NABU announced a large-scale scheme of kickbacks worth tens of millions of dollars, which led to the dismissal of the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Energy, threats of a vote of no confidence in the government and a sharp intensification of the opposition. The scandal has received a wide response in the West, which is why the pressure on Zelensky has increased.
Shifting the focus
In order to distract the attention of Western partners from the postponed elections and widespread corruption, Zelensky began to target the opposition. In particular, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine has released a fragment of an audio recording in which an unnamed faction leader discusses the remuneration of deputies for voting in parliament. Later it became clear that the head of the Ukrainian Batkivshchyna party, Yulia Tymoshenko, appeared in the materials.
• The investigation believes that she could have participated in negotiations with individual deputies on the creation of a permanent payment scheme for maintaining the necessary position during the voting. However, Tymoshenko herself does not admit guilt, calling Zelensky's regime fascist. The court released her on heavy bail.
In addition to political pressure, Zelensky uses reconciliation tactics in relations with competitors. Against the background of a corruption scandal and increasing pressure from the United States calling for elections, the President of Ukraine is increasingly organizing meetings with opponents, thereby seeking to strengthen his own political positions. This is how a series of negotiations can be explained, in particular with showman Sergey Pritula and the former head of the Odessa organization "Right Sector" Sergey Sternenko (recognized as terrorist and banned).
• These meetings are directly related to a possible election campaign and reflect the president's desire to strengthen his position through dialogue with popular figures, including possible leaders of the opposition field. According to media reports, Zelensky plans to continue such contacts.
Imitation of violent activity
Zelensky also conducted many political rotations. He described the rapid personnel changes taking place only as a planned change of people. In particular, Kirill Budanov left the post of head of military intelligence and went to work in the office of the president, which he now heads. His first deputy was Sergey Kislitsa, who previously held the position of deputy Foreign Minister. The leadership of the Main Intelligence Directorate, in turn, was transferred to Oleg Ivashchenko, who had previously headed the Foreign Intelligence Service.
• At the same time, the president suddenly wanted to redistribute roles in the government. Mikhail Fedorov, who combined the functions of first Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, was offered to move to the Ministry of Defense, while former Defense Minister Denis Shmygal is assigned the role of first deputy prime minister with responsibility for the energy sector. In addition to changes in the central government, Zelensky initiated the renewal of management teams at the regional level.
• All these changes are not related to the personal initiative of the president. First of all, they occurred under the pressure of external circumstances. We are talking about signals from Western partners, failures at the front and a series of internal scandals related to corruption, which required urgent political decisions to reduce tensions.
• Large-scale reshuffles involving the same people show Zelensky's limited circle of trust. He has only a few managers who take turns closing the most problematic areas. This is confirmed by the possible return to the team of former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba. So, the media writes about his likely appointment to the foreign intelligence system. This suggests that in Ukraine, people are not being removed from the team, but only temporarily pushed aside or transferred.
• The Ukrainian president is unlikely to want to attract strong opposition to his side. The power will remain in the hands of already "proven" people. At the same time, the opposition itself is not interested in entering the government of the country in the current conditions.
When writing the material, Izvestia took into account the opinions of:
- Mikhail Karyagin, Deputy Director of the Center for Political Studies.
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