For Ukraine's sake, Zelensky must now step aside

Telegraph

2 days ago

Volodymyr Zelensky was once Ukraine's saviour. In the first hours of the Russian invasion, as Putin's paratroopers advanced on Central Kyiv with specific orders to kill him, Zelensky refused to evacuate.
Instead, he rallied his people to a heroic resistance that surprised the world – and Ukrainians themselves. It was thanks to Zelensky's relentless lobbying and inspiring showmanship that Western nations were cajoled into sending rockets, artillery and tanks where once they had offered helmets and bandages.
But those times are gone. Zelensky is no longer part of the solution to Ukraine – he is part of the problem.
Over the last year Zelensky has used emergency wartime powers to exile, investigate and jail many leading political opponents and critics. Opposition media have been shut down, and thousands of businesses have been seized by Zelensky cronies under the pretext of alleged links to Russia.
Several senior cabinet members have been sacked – but not prosecuted – for massive corruption. And this week, Zelensky's party ordered the takeover of two key anti-corruption agencies who were investigating hundreds of government officials, parliamentarians and presidential administration insiders.
For the first time since the beginning of the war, the streets of Kyiv have erupted with thousands of young protesters. Olga Rudenko, editor of the Kyiv Independent and once an ardent supporter of Zelensky, has written: 'Zelensky will feel the wrath of those exact stubborn, freedom-loving Ukrainians he has been an international symbol for.'
Zelensky's attack on anti-corruption agencies, which he seems to now have backtracked on, was a huge and unforced error, coming right as Donald Trump seemed to be moving in a slightly more pro-Ukrainian direction.
It was also a gift not only to Russian propagandists but also to everyone in the West who opposes further military aid for Kyiv's continued resistance. 'Zelensky … is a dictator and refuses to make a peace deal and end the war,' tweeted arch-Ukraine sceptic and Maga stalwart Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, praising the crowds of protesters who had gathered outside the Presidential Administration in Kyiv. 'Good for the Ukrainian people! Throw him out of office!'
Zelensky's move also brought condemnation from the European Union, which was about to begin EU accession negotiations with Kyiv. European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos was 'seriously concerned' and sharply reminded Zelensky that 'rule of law remains in the very centre of EU accession negotiations.'
What incriminating information did Ukraine's National Anti-corruption Bureau, or Nabu, have on Zelensky's inner circle? Whatever it was, it was serious enough for presidential chief of staff Andrew Yermak to convene parliament from recess and rush through a bill effectively shutting down the agency in less than 72 hours.
Zelensky's term of office formally expired in May 2024, and he remains in office under wartime emergency powers despite calls for him to create a government of national unity. 'In May 1940 Winston Churchill invited the leader of the opposition Attlee to be his deputy and united all of parliament in one government,' says opposition MP Oleksiy Goncharenko. 'Zelensky has done the opposite, he is holding on to power by all means possible.'
There are increasing calls for new elections to be held, despite the ongoing hostilities. Over 70 per cent of Ukrainians believe that their leaders are profiting from the war – a horribly corrosive thing in wartime – and combat fatigue among soldiers and civilians alike is profound.
A June poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology showed that 43 per cent of respondents would be willing to give away de facto control over occupied territories in order to reach a peace deal with Moscow.
So far, Vladimir Putin shows no sign of being serious about peace. Putin bears a personal hatred for Zelensky, the profound anger of a bully towards someone who has stood up to him.
That's well and good in wartime – but not a relationship likely to yield peace. A new Ukrainian president would mark a reset moment – especially if he or she was ready to protect the rights of Russian speakers in Ukraine, a key demand of the Kremlin's and, ironically enough, also of the EU.
Zelensky has played an epic role in saving his country from destruction. Now there is a danger of his imitating his corrupt predecessors, and he should step aside, for Ukraine's sake.