Volodymyr Zelensky met with Valerii Zaluzhny — the former commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, now Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK at the presidential residence on Bankova Street in Kyiv. The meeting is reported by Ukrainska Pravda, citing sources close to both men.
Zaluzhny had been summoned to Kyiv from London shortly before British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his resignation. But after that topic was addressed, Zelensky steered the conversation toward Ukraine’s presidential election.
According to the outlet’s sources, Zelensky opened by noting that the front-line situation had recently been developing favorably and that society remained fairly united, meaning a “window of opportunity” had opened for holding a presidential vote. He stressed the election needed to be conducted in a way that wouldn’t split the country, which meant avoiding the risks of open confrontation between himself and Zaluzhny. Eventually the president asked directly: if the election were held in the fall, would Zaluzhny run? The answer, as relayed by Ukrainska Pravda’s sources, was unambiguous: “Yes. I will.”
The outlet’s sources say Zelensky had been ready to discuss almost any state post with Zaluzhny but after that answer, he stopped offering anything. Zaluzhny, for his part, said he had never sought a political career, but that many people were placing their hopes in him, and he couldn’t justify betraying that trust.
Soon after, two more presidential envoys: National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov and head of the presidential parliamentary faction David Arakhamia, met with Zaluzhny, who had stayed behind in Kyiv. They repeated Zelensky’s arguments about the risk of a social split, but Zaluzhny’s position on the election didn’t budge. As they parted ways, they still urged him: “Brother, think it over.”
Zaluzhny’s approval rating remains high, journalists note, though it’s no longer climbing at the pace seen right after his dismissal as commander-in-chief in February 2024. Meanwhile, the rating of another potential Zelensky rival is rising: presidential office chief Kyrylo Budanov.
Around the same time, Zelensky held another meeting, this one with Budanov, Umerov, Arakhamia, deputy presidential office chief Oleh Tatarov, and Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. The group discussed whether to hold a presidential election at all, and if so, when and who would run.
Per Ukrainska Pravda, the president was drawing on confidential June polling that, for the first time in months, showed a small but steady uptick in his support after a long decline. In a first-round vote, roughly 33% of decided voters said they’d back Zelensky, versus about 22% for Zaluzhny and nearly 14% for Budanov. But in a runoff, the same polling, cited by the outlet’s sources, suggests Zelensky would lose to Zaluzhny (about 32% to 37%), while beating Budanov, though only narrowly.
