Kiev, Ukraine – Regarding Ukraine, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin agree with the deep dislike of Voldymir Zelensky.
The US and Russian leaders hope that their Ukrainian counterparts will be gone.
“There’s a situation where there’s no election going on in Ukraine, where I hate how Ukrainian leaders say it, but he’s down with a 4% approval rating,” Trump argued on February 19th.
Five days later, President Putin supported Trump’s claims.
“There’s not more than four actually what percentage (Zelenskyy) there is. Our data shows that his rating is almost twice as low as his political rival,” Putin mentioned Valerii Zaluzhnyii, the former top Ukrainian general who fired fire last year.
Trump and Putin were wrong about Zelensky’s assessment.
Zelenskyy’s diplomatic spat with Trump has boosted his domestic popularity, according to a Kyiv International Institute of Sociology poll.
However, 37% of Ukrainians do not trust Zelensky, the poll said.
Critics accused Zelenskyy of being muzzle free speech, and did not contain corruption in his own people’s parties, and more importantly, the military. They also accused him of fired Zaluzhnyi in February 2024.
Putin was right when he called Zarzni, who is now the UK ambassador to Ukraine.
The thick, mute general has a 62% approval rating, but has repeatedly said he will not run for president during the war.
“While the war continues, we all need to work to save the country, not to think about elections,” he told RBC-Ukraine news agency last week.
However, Zaluzhnyi will cleverly follow the public relations tactics that Zelenskyy attempted and tested ahead of his victory in the 2019 presidential election.
He continues to speculate on potential voters about political platforms by rarely giving interviews and minimizing the flow of social media.
Zaluzhnyi only bristled Trump once in a brief speech at Chatham House in London on March 6, for denounced his administration of “destroying the world order” and “questioning unity in the Western world.”
The underlying message was clear – despite his particular victory, Zaluzhnyi is no longer challenging Zelenskyy.
Meanwhile, Trump’s team is reportedly approaching Zelensky’s civilian rival despite its minimal popularity.
In early March, Trump’s aide reportedly spoke with veteran politician and two-time prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, once known for her trademark Halo Braid.
Tymoshenko led the polls ahead of the 2019 poll until Zelenskyy, a comedian with no political experience, announced his bid.
However, recently, only 10.6% of Ukrainians trust Tymoshenko, the head of the Batkivshchyna (homeland), according to a March 25 survey by the Kyiv poller Rozumkov Center.
Zelenskyy’s predecessor and Archenemy are a little more popular.
According to polls, 17% of Ukrainians trust Petro Poroshenko, Ukrainian wealthiest president, who won the 2014 election after pledging to fight corruption and unite all Ukrainians of various linguistic and ethnic backgrounds.
However, while he was with the president, Poroshenko was plagued by a corruption scandal, overcoming Zelensky’s winning only 24% of the 2019 vote.
Poroshenko confirmed that Trump’s aides had approached him, but he rejected the claim that the meeting was about snap votes.
“Elections are only possible after signing a peace agreement between a ceasefire and Ukraine’s security guarantee,” he wrote on Facebook.
Ukraine’s constitution and election law prohibits elections under martial law, and it is logistically impossible to hold them during war.
Ukraine will need to demobilize about 700,000 military personnel to make sure they can vote. You can also register as a candidate and campaign.
Even with minimal territorial profits in March, it is almost impossible given that the Russian troops will continue to push along the 1,200 km (750 miles) frontline.
According to Khortitsya, a telegram channel for analysis, they occupied 133 square kilometers (51 square miles) mainly in Donbas.
But it appears Putin wants a breakthrough in his military as he continues to think about new prerequisites for the 30-day ceasefire promoted by Trump.
Nearly daily bombardment of Russian Ukrainian cities is also a major security threat, as crowds are inevitable during the vote.
Polling stations have traditionally been organized in public schools and administrative buildings, but the war has destroyed thousands.
Kiev also cannot guarantee the safety of international monitors that observed each vote in post-Soviet Ukraine.
Voting after martial law is lifted
If a ceasefire is inscribed, a presidential vote can be held 90 days after martial law is lifted.
However, to ensure a correct tally, Kiev will need to conduct a census to reflect actual voters.
In 2022, when the full-scale Russian invasion began, the population was 34.7 million.
Since then, 6.9 million Ukrainians have fled abroad, 3.7 million have evacuated internally, and 5 million have remained in the Russian occupied region.
Additionally, 1.3 million Ukrainians live in Russia, and its closest ally, Belarus, reports the United Nations.
According to Ukrainian officials, they face prisons, torture and loss of property for attempts to vote.
Paper votes cast by refugees in Europe and elsewhere will overwhelm the embassies and consulates in Ukraine.
Over 20 million Ukrainians use DIIA. DIIA is a mobile phone app that uses most government services and even sells cars.
However, the app got malfunctioned when they used DIIA to vote for the Ukrainian candidate for the Eurovision Song Contest in February.
The Economist, a British magazine, reported on Sunday that Kiev is preparing to vote, and Zelenkie hopes to win it. The publication cited anonymous government sources in its report.
A day later, the head of the People’s Party’s control dismissed the claim.
“All Congresses and factions have agreed that elections must take place six months after martial law is lifted,” David Arachamia said in a broadcast statement.