Seven years ago, Zelensky became president of Ukraine and promised to end the war in Crimea and the Russian occupation of Donbas, and to curb corruption. And although he has not fulfilled any of them, his support is high.
The reason is that elections are not held during martial law, as stipulated in the Ukrainian constitution, ARD explains.
Ukraine is increasingly in the position of a supplicant
The former TV star became the president of Ukraine in 2019, but gained global popularity when Russia attacked the country in 2022. Despite information that Russian special forces were trying to eliminate him, he remained in his homeland. Since then, Zelensky has been traveling the world and trying to provide support for the attacked country - political, financial and military.
However, the war is now in its fifth year, and Ukraine seems to be less and less in the role of a supplicant for help, ARD writes. Kiev is signing treaties on military cooperation and understanding with the Gulf states and its European partners. Germany also wants to secure a strategic partnership for the production of long-range weapons. For a long time, Ukraine has been begging Germany for "Taurus" missiles. The country has repeatedly negotiated with its partners about using their weapons to strike inside Russia. Now, however, Kiev has built its own weapons, as Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said during his recent visit to Germany.
Ukraine is increasingly attacking military targets and oil refineries thousands of kilometers from the front line - with its own weapons. The country's president commented on the latest massive Ukrainian attack on multiple targets in Russia - including in Moscow, saying: “This is a clear sign that no one should start an unjust war against Ukraine”. Zelensky also said that the capacity of Russian oil refineries has been reduced by 10% in recent months. "Russian oil companies are now forced to close their oil wells", the Ukrainian head of state claims.
The shadow of corruption problems
Despite the postponed presidential elections, Zelensky continues to have a high rating, a survey by the Kiev Sociological Institute shows - 61% of Ukrainians say they trust Zelensky. This is so, despite the president's unfulfilled election promises, ARD writes.
In 2019, the then TV star Zelensky ran a populist campaign in which he promised that he would easily end the war in eastern Ukraine by negotiating with Vladimir Putin. He also promised to end corruption in the country. However, one of the biggest corruption scandals in Ukraine's recent history is unfolding right now. The country's anti-corruption institutions are talking about a criminal organization, and the main suspects are close friends and business partners of Zelensky - including his long-time advisor and until recently chief of staff of the president, Andriy Yermak.
”It has never happened before that people from the president's inner circle have been indicted”, says journalist Danilo Mokryk of ”Kiev Independent”. The bribery scandal surrounding the state energy company ”Energoatom” and the construction of luxury apartments near Kiev shocked the country and led to resignations and dismissals at the highest political level in recent months, ARD recalls. Many observers are of the opinion that these revelations also have a positive side. ”This case shows that anti-corruption bodies can work, even in a war situation”, commented political scientist Oleh Sahakyan. It is now up to Zelensky how he will respond to the latest allegations.
The president's trust suffers from these accusations
The independent anti-corruption bodies are not investigating the Ukrainian president personally, ARD specifies. This is legally impossible. But since the scandal became public last year, people in Ukraine have been asking how much Zelensky knew and to what extent he himself was involved. Popular investigative journalist Mykhailo Tkach is convinced that Zelensky at least knew about what was happening. One of the luxury apartments under investigation was supposed to be for "Vova", according to telephone conversations that are part of the investigation. Tkach is convinced that "Vova" is Volodymyr Zelensky. However, this cannot be verified by independent sources at this time.
The scandal is eroding trust in Zelensky, says Darya Kalenyuk, an anti-corruption activist who accuses the Ukrainian president of hypocrisy. "He promised people that he would change the system so that those who are connected through business would no longer receive preferential treatment. It was a very nice promise, but he did not keep it", Kalenyuk told ARD. She hopes that Ukraine's European partners will put pressure on Zelensky and believes that the EU should tie financial aid to Kiev to the implementation of specific reforms.
Expected reforms
At the end of last year, the European Union and Ukraine reached an agreement on ten concrete steps for reforms in the area of the rule of law and the strengthening of independent institutions. "This will be a real protective barrier that will ensure that financial support from Europe will not be stolen, but will be effectively used in Ukraine”, says Kalenyuk. Although she criticizes President Zelensky, the activist also expresses gratitude to him. According to her, he is a very good communicator, and how Ukraine presents itself to the world at the moment is also important for the country's defense.