Ex-army chief Zaluzhnyi eyeing politics? Ukraine debates the future of the 'Iron General'
Photo: Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK (Getty Images)
After the high-profile interview given by Valerii Zaluzhnyi to the Associated Press, Ukraine’s political circles have been swept by a new wave of speculation about his political future. However, people close to Zaluzhnyi deny that any election campaign headquarters are being created.
RBC-Ukraine looked into whether the “Iron General” is really preparing a leap into big politics and what stands behind his sharp statements.
Key points:
Running or not? People close to Zaluzhnyi say he is not involved in politics and is not preparing for elections, but officials on Bankova Street believe the opposite.
No campaign headquarters. Despite rumors, Zaluzhnyi has not formed a political team. His main circle consists of friends from military service.
A ratings duel. Polls show that Zaluzhnyi’s rating remains comparable to the president’s, and in a second round he would outperform Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
A media counterattack. Those close to the former commander-in-chief say his growing public visibility is a response to a long-running campaign to discredit him in the media.
No communication. There is no regular communication between Zelenskyy and Zaluzhnyi, although the presidential office wanted to speak with the former commander before the AP interview was published.
Why Zaluzhnyi spoke out now
The main trigger for the renewed speculation about Zaluzhnyi’s political future was his interview with the Associated Press. In it, he openly said for the first time that political leaders interfered in planning the 2023 counteroffensive, and he also mentioned SBU searches at his command center at the beginning of the full-scale war.
In Zelenskyy’s team, the interview was perceived as a “false start” of a political campaign. One version circulating among sources in the presidential team suggests that opposition forces “wound up” Zaluzhnyi, convincing him that elections could happen soon.
Another theory discussed behind the scenes is that Zaluzhnyi decided to move first after learning about possible plans to dismiss him from the ambassador’s post—or, conversely, that he wanted to provoke such a dismissal to free his hands politically.
However, sources close to Zaluzhnyi strongly deny these theories. They say his increased media activity is simply a response to ongoing information attacks against him in the media.
Political team: myths and reality
Despite widespread rumors about the creation of a “Zaluzhnyi party,” there are no real signs of a political headquarters.
People close to the general insist he is not creating any campaign teams and has no such plans.
At the same time, many political and business figures are trying to capitalize on Zaluzhnyi’s name, seeing him as a potential springboard into big politics. For now, however, his real “team” remains colleagues at the embassy and former army comrades.
Relations with Zelenskyy: from tension to silence
The conflict between Zelenskyy and Zaluzhnyi, which began when the latter was still commander-in-chief, has not disappeared.
If earlier the disagreements were about war strategy, now they are increasingly about political rivalry. Officials in the presidential office believe Zaluzhnyi behaves not like an ambassador or a general, but like a politician.
Polls show that in the first round, Zaluzhnyi could achieve results comparable to the president’s, while in a second round, he could surpass Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy publicly distances himself from the dispute, saying that “now is not the time for politics.”
“There were attempts to speak with him even before the publication, to understand what drives him and what exactly he meant,” a source in the presidential circle told RBC-Ukraine.
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