Overview
- Zelenskiy met Thursday with Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the former commander now serving as ambassador to the UK and viewed as his strongest potential challenger.
- The president also disclosed meetings with public figures Serhiy Prytula and Serhiy Sternenko, with Prytula saying their discussion focused on legal hurdles facing army volunteers rather than politics.
- A probe into misuse of funds for energy-infrastructure defense implicated figures in Zelenskiy’s circle and led to the resignation of top aide Andriy Yermak.
- Zelenskiy named military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov to head the presidential office, elevating a popular wartime figure after Yermak’s departure.
- He asked lawmakers to draft rules enabling elections after a ceasefire as U.S. negotiators press a 20-point plan for a prompt vote, with martial law still blocking balloting and polls showing him only slightly ahead of Zaluzhnyi.