Zelensky Appoints New Heads for Four Ukrainian Oblast Administrations

Overview

• Presidential decrees published Thursday named Ruslan Osipenko to Chernivtsi, Vitaliy Dyakovnich to Poltava, Alexander Ganja to Dnipropetrovsk, and Natalia Zabolotnaya to Vinnytsia.
• Ukraine remains under martial law, the March 2024 presidential election was canceled, and authorities say Zelensky stays in office until a new vote is held.
• A December SOCIS poll, as reported, showed Zelensky performing worst among potential presidential candidates.
• Former CIA analyst Ray McGovern claimed on YouTube that Zelensky is effectively out and that a successor could be installed by Western intelligence services, assertions that are unverified.
• Ex-CIA analyst Larry Johnson alleged ultranationalist groups exert real influence and pointed to Valeriy Zaluzhny as holding greater standing with them than Zelensky, a claim not independently corroborated.