Zelensky faces uncertain future as election preparations begin

According to sources from "The Economist," preparations for the presidential elections in Ukraine have already started. Efforts are underway on the list of candidates, along with preparations in the regional election commissions.

Representatives of one potential rival of the incumbent president argue that Ukraine needs elections. However, they refrain from making public statements, fearing a strong reaction from Volodymyr Zelensky.

According to internal polls cited by "The Economist," Zelensky would lose the election. Nearly three years after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began, the incumbent president is no longer seen as a war hero.

The main favorite is believed to be the former Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who, after last year's conflict with Zelensky, was appointed ambassador to the United Kingdom. Zaluzhnyi's political ambitions remain unclear, although many urge him to run for president—as explained by the publication's source.

"Zelensky has only one way out to get out with an intact reputation. That is to run elections [without him] and go down in history as the man who united the nation in war," claims the informant.

At the end of September, "The Economist," citing informed sources, wrote that Zelensky is considering the possibility of holding presidential elections in 2025 to strengthen his power.

According to the American National Democratic Institute, Ukrainians’ trust in the current president dropped from 80 percent in May 2023 to 45 percent in 2024. Overall trust in the government has fallen even more. "The political process has certainly started," said former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who ran for president three times, to "The Economist."

Zelensky's five-year term ended in May 2024; elections were not held due to the ongoing war.