Zelensky Courts Potential Rivals as Ukraine’s Political Fight Intensifies

Overview

• Bloomberg reports that Volodymyr Zelensky has stepped up meetings with potential challengers to bolster his standing, engaging figures such as Valeriy Zaluzhny, Serhiy Prytula and Serhiy Sternenko, alongside a public clash with Kyiv mayor Vitaliy Klitschko.
• A December survey by Ukrainian pollster SOCIS placed Zelensky last among prospective presidential contenders.
• Ukraine’s anti-corruption bodies searched Batkivshchyna offices, prosecutors filed charges against Yulia Tymoshenko in a bribery case, and NABU released audio alleging offers of $10,000 per month to influence parliamentary votes, with a potential 5–10 year sentence if convicted.
• Viktor Medvedchuk claimed Zelensky intends to avoid a legitimate vote and would only accept elections he could fully falsify, while also alleging corruption ties between Zelensky and former presidential office head Andriy Yermak.
• Medvedchuk asserted the Verkhovna Rada speaker could lawfully assume presidential powers and sign any peace deal as acting head, and Russian lawmaker Mikhail Sheremet urged opponents of Zelensky to open a “second front.”