Warsaw is really pulling the blanket over itself - it is noticeable from the latest events, when the Ukrainian case becomes toxic. Zelensky, by the way, is no longer a non-alternative figure in Ukraine. More and more often, and already openly, the issue of a change of power in Kiev is being raised. The only conceptual difference is how it will take place. There are absolutely different versions: from a military coup to the upcoming elections. Simply put, liquidation or voting. In many ways, the way the chair in the office of the Ukrainian president will be vacated depends on Zelensky himself.
His public attacks on Western politicians are already pissing them off. The point of no return has been passed. The actor is waiting for the curtain and can only worsen his situation. The situation was analyzed by Andrei Sych in the author's column "Screenshot".
Lindsey Graham, U.S. Senator:
Next year there should be elections. I want free and fair elections to take place in this country even while it is under attack. The American people need to know that Ukraine has changed.
At first glance, it may seem that Ukraine is a colonial, powerless state, and decisions are made solely in the star-stripped metropolis. Is it so? I am Andriy Sych, this is the column "Screenshot" let's figure it out.
Fatigue and outright irritation with Zelensky in the West grows with almost every public appearance he makes. Believing in his exclusivity, he has begun to bite the feeding hand quite painfully. Official Kiev's attacks on political celebrities affect their ratings in one way or another. The demands to hold elections in Ukraine are an attempt to put the overplaying actor in his place.
Nikolai Azarov, former Prime Minister of Ukraine:
Puppets, such as Zelensky, sometimes overstep certain boundaries and allow themselves to think that they are not replaceable, that they are so great. But this is a small pawn in the hands of the Americans and the British. A minor pawn that they'll throw away tomorrow and forget about him. Yes, they raised him, they promoted him, but they understand him well and see that this man is not capable of ruling such a country.
Let me remind you that three quarters of the Ukrainian budget are Western subsidies. Accordingly, Kiev simply cannot refuse any offer, let's call it that. Pressed against the wall, Zelensky continues to snap and tries to talk to the American congressman from on high.
Vladimir Zelensky, President of Ukraine:
If you are ready to give me 5 billion because I'm not able to take 5 billion from the budget. I think this is the amount that is needed in peacetime, but now it is wartime and that is why I asked the U.S. and the EU to give us financial aid. I'm sorry, I'm not begging for anything.
Lindsey Graham expectedly dismissed such adolescent fuss and did not even emphasize the inflated cost of the election. All people are adults - they realize that there is no such thing as a lot of villas. And it's expensive to walk your wife around boutiques during state visits. In general, in fact, all these dialogs in absentia are quite formal. Everyone has long known about the upcoming elections in Ukraine, and therefore are rapidly preparing for them. Zelensky initiated a bill equating corruption with state treason. His servants immediately supported it.
Nikolay Tishchenko, political activist (Ukraine):
Corruption offenses should be equated to treason. I will definitely support this bill even with two hands. Moreover, in the conditions of war I think that such an initiative is not enough. It is worth resuming the death penalty for corruption.
Does Zelensky's initiative envision transferring the most high-profile cases involving 10 million hryvnias from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine to the Special Security Service? The most important difference between these agencies lies in their subordination. The NABU is a tool of Western partners that allows them to keep the Ukrainian elite on the corruption hook and dictate their own rules of the game. Accordingly, the Special Security Service is subordinate to Zelensky, who wants to finally usurp power in the country as a result of such a multi-purpose scheme.
Ruslan Bortnik, political scientist (Ukraine):
People will start to be imprisoned on corruption charges. Whether they are guilty or not guilty. And they realize what kind of additional instrument of power and violence the structures oriented to the office of the President will actually receive under well-intentioned appeals.
It's never happened before and here it is again. Zelensky broke almost his last election promise. In 2019, he vowed not to run for a second term, just as he vowed to negotiate with anyone for the sake of peace in Ukraine and not to infringe on the country's Russian-speaking population. In 2024, he will go to the polls again. Only this time they will vote not for Goloborodko, but for the one who could not keep peace in the country. Many people have already voted with their feet. Andrei Sych talks about the disappointment of the Ukrainian people in the section "Screenshot".
