The British newspaper The Guardian reported that Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and now ambassador to the UK, refused possible contact with US Vice President J.D. Vance after a scandal in the White House. The reason was that the American side had earlier looked for an alternative to President Volodymyr Zelensky during tensions between the leaders of Ukraine and the US.
According to The Guardian, the vice president’s team tried to contact the popular Zaluzhnyi, but after consultations with the Ukrainian President’s Office, the general declined. This episode is featured in a political profile of Zaluzhnyi published by the British edition.
Portnykov notes that this situation highlights many Western politicians’ misunderstanding of the Russian leadership’s goals, which are not interested in Ukrainian elections and seek to prolong the war. From the expert’s point of view, the Kremlin considers elections in occupied territories merely a mechanism for legitimizing control, not a national democratic process.
The West, the author asserts, fails to acknowledge that changes to Ukraine’s political landscape are unlikely even if the president’s personality changes. Any acting president chosen by parliament would lack public trust and face limited powers.
Portnykov sees Zaluzhnyi’s refusal to engage with the US vice president’s team as proof of political wisdom under difficult circumstances, but stresses that Ukraine’s political future remains unpredictable as the circumstances of war are constantly changing.
