This blog reflects on the hypothetical scenario of presidential elections during wartime in Ukraine, focusing on the likely confrontation between just two main candidates: Valerii Zaluzhnyi and Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the commentator, the current political landscape in Ukraine, shaped by the war, leaves almost no chance for other contenders — the real contest would be between these two figures, barring any force majeure that could prevent Zaluzhnyi's participation.
The author compares the approaches and rhetoric of both candidates regarding the war. Commander Zaluzhnyi, a professional general, insists that Ukraine is facing a "stalemate" of positional warfare, where further assaults by infantry lead to heavy losses without real advances. He emphasizes the need to implement new technologies and robotic systems to minimize human casualties. According to Zaluzhnyi, breaking through Russian defensive lines is nearly impossible due to advanced fortifications and total battlefield transparency provided by drones and satellites. Prolonging the war, he believes, only benefits the enemy.
The government’s approach, personified by Zelensky, instead focuses on continued offensives, ambitious plans, and intensified mobilization. While the leadership urges for a counteroffensive and territorial recovery, Zaluzhnyi views such tactics as potential causes of even greater losses. On a range of critical questions — from the assessment of failed counteroffensives to the role of infantry and technology at the front — the two leaders' positions often fundamentally diverge.
The blogger concludes: should elections take place, Ukrainians will face a choice between two fundamentally different perspectives on both the war and the country's future. Readers are encouraged to study and compare the approaches, though the author voices doubts about the possibility of a true choice anytime soon.
