The deepening unpopularity of Zelensky

Perhaps all political careers must end, inevitably, in failure. But few politicians have had careers as meteoric, as surprising, as consequential or as heroic as that of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. In just five years he has gone from TV comedian to victor of the biggest presidential landslide in his country’s history to inspiring wartime leader who impressed the world with his resolve and personal bravery. But now with the war entering its third (and probably last) winter, Zelensky’s extraordinary story as Ukraine’s leader has reached its final chapter.

After a thousand days of defiance, not only of Russian aggression but also of the grim reality on the ground, Zelensky last week finally admitted that the reconquest of the territories occupied by Russia could be abandoned in return for rapid Nato membership. Given that Nato membership is not, in fact, remotely on the cards, what Zelensky was really admitting was the inevitability of territorial loss as part of a Donald Trump-brokered negotiation with the Kremlin.

It will be up to future historians to assess, and for the people of Ukraine to debate, what Zelensky could have done differently to achieve a better outcome. But what is becoming abundantly clear is that, rightly or wrongly, Ukraine’s voters blame Zelensky for the war’s failures – and do not wish him to play any part in their country’s future.

Recent polls suggest that just 22 per cent of Ukrainians would vote to re-elect Zelensky for a second term (with just 16 per cent marking him as their first choice). According to a poll last month by the Social Monitoring Centre in Kyiv, about 60 per cent would prefer Zelensky not even to stand at all. Leading the polls is General Valerii Zaluzhny – whom Zelensky sacked as chief of Ukraine’s general staff in February and effectively exiled as ambassador to London – whose support in presidential elections stands at 42 per cent.