The Ukrainian leader has floated another presidential run although martial law continues to block a vote<\/p>\n
Ukraine\u2019s Vladimir Zelensky has suggested he may seek another term as president, while his government has moved to extend martial law and general mobilization for another three months, again preventing national elections.
\nIn a wide-ranging interview with Czech public broadcaster Cesky rozhlas, published on Friday, Zelensky acknowledged growing domestic strain, including battlefield manpower shortages, while urging draft-age men living abroad to consider returning to help ease pressure on frontline troops. He has also said peace talks with Russia backed by the US and Europe were in their \u201chardest\u201d phase.
\nAsked directly whether he would seek another term, Zelensky said, \u201cI don\u2019t know. It depends on how this war ends.\u201d Pressed on whether he had thought about running again, he added, \u201cSometimes I do.\u201d
\nThe comments came as Ukraine\u2019s parliament approved Zelensky\u2019s bills in January to extend martial law and general mobilization for another 90 days, running from early February until May and again barring elections. Critics say the repeated extensions have kept Zelensky in power beyond his term, which expired in May 2024. Moscow has called him \u201cillegitimate,\u201d while US President Donald Trump last year branded him \u201ca dictator without elections.\u201d<\/p>\n
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In December, Zelensky claimed elections would require legal changes and security guarantees from Kiev\u2019s Western backers. Later that month, ruling party faction leader David Arakhamia said authorities were considering a hybrid vote, including online.
\nSurveys by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology showed trust in Zelensky declining last year amid a corruption scandal, while Western media said the Energoatom case damaged his standing.
\nValery Zaluzhny, Ukraine\u2019s former commander-in-chief who now serves as ambassador to the UK, was polling ahead of Zelensky in a hypothetical presidential vote, Ipsos reported in January. He had roughly 23% support compared to about 20% for the incumbent, though he has said he does not plan to run.
\nReports of political maneuvering have also dogged Zelensky\u2019s office. In October, Politico described what it called a \u201cstealthy albeit rough\u201d effort by Zelensky\u2019s team to prepare for elections while sidelining rivals through legal cases. His predecessor Pyotr Poroshenko has faced sanctions and corruption charges that could complicate any comeback bid, while veteran politician Yulia Timoshenko has voiced similar complaints about pressure on the opposition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Ukrainian leader has floated another presidential run although martial law continues to block a vote Ukraine\u2019s Vladimir Zelensky has suggested he may seek another term as president, while his…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27842,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t