From general to politician? Former Ukrainian army chief Zaluzhnyi's remarks ignite talk of election run

"Are you talking about Zaluzhnyi's false start?" — this was roughly how many RBC-Ukraine interlocutors reacted when asked what they thought about his high-profile interview with the Associated Press.

The interview contained two key and most widely discussed points. The first concerned the alleged raid by Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) on Zaluzhnyi's command center in Kyiv in 2022. The second was about how the country's political leadership, represented by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, allegedly interfered in the preparation of the 2023 counteroffensive plan — which, according to the former commander-in-chief, ultimately led to its failure.

At the same time, the interview itself was recorded about a month before publication and covered a much broader range of topics. The decision to highlight these two particular episodes was made by the AP editorial team.

Zaluzhnyi's interview quickly sparked a dense web of conspiracy theories in the already fertile political environment. The main question was: why now?

Election preparation theory

One of Zelenskyy's allies explains Zaluzhnyi's sudden surge in activity by claiming that people around him have allegedly begun seriously preparing for the possible launch of an election campaign.

According to the source, one possible trigger was a recent meeting between Servant of the People faction leader Davyd Arakhamia and heads of parliamentary factions and groups, where preparations for new election legislation were discussed.

"After that meeting, representatives of European Solidarity (Ukrainian political party -ed.) — who, according to our information, are in contact with Zaluzhnyi — got the impression, rather mistakenly, that elections could happen soon and that Ukraine and Russia might somehow reach an agreement. That perception was apparently in the background in London as well. Zaluzhnyi's circle saw that he had somewhat fallen out of the information spotlight and apparently decided to correct that,” said one informed RBC-Ukraine source from Zelenskyy's team.

RBC-Ukraine heard similar versions — informally dubbed "Zaluzhnyi made his move" — from several other interlocutors both within and outside the government.

Polling factor

Three RBC-Ukraine sources also pointed to recent polls conducted by Ukrainian sociological companies, which recorded a noticeable rise in trust ratings for another military figure — Kyrylo Budanov, the current head of the Presidential Office.

"Zaluzhnyi may have mistakenly believed that this rise came at his expense. But in reality, it came from the group of people who previously did not have a clearly defined favorite," said one source familiar with internal polling data.

Another version — which does not contradict the previous one — suggests that Zaluzhnyi may have learned about Zelenskyy's apparent intention to dismiss him from the ambassadorial post and decided to act preemptively.

Possible resignation theory

There is also a mirror version: by openly criticizing his direct superior, Zaluzhnyi may have been trying to provoke Zelenskyy into dismissing him. In that case, the former commander could return to Kyiv and run a campaign while positioning himself as an open opposition figure.

"Provoking Zelenskyy is definitely not the option. Zelenskyy isn't an idiot — he understands that in such a situation he would look petty," said one opposition lawmaker sympathetic to Zaluzhnyi.

According to him, launching a presidential campaign with such ambitions is usually carefully planned, while the remarks in the AP interview look more like emotional statements, especially given the uncertainty about when any campaign could realistically begin.

Zaluzhnyi's camp responds

At the same time, an RBC-Ukraine source close to the former commander-in-chief categorically rejects all these theories — whether they involve "emotions," "provocation," or a "false start."

"There was no single event that triggered this. But the discreditation campaign kept growing and growing. Some time ago — not now — Zaluzhnyi decided that it was necessary to respond and became more active in the media," the source said.

Indeed, according to the current ambassador to the UK, attacks in the Ukrainian media space — particularly on Telegram, though not only there — are often conducted anonymously. The topics range widely: from alleged mistakes in managing the army in 2022–2023 to photos with controversial figures, from questions about military exemptions to criticism of his English skills.

"For a long time, his position was 'let them write.' Fortunately, he has changed that — he cannot be left to the flow," the source said.

According to him, Zaluzhnyi will appear more frequently in the media going forward.

Zelenskyy's team calls the interview 'inappropriate'

According to a source in Zelenskyy's team, the interview was largely perceived there as "inappropriate."

"No one really knows what he has decided for himself, but he is clearly not behaving like an ambassador or a general — he is behaving like a political candidate, and that’s how others perceive him," the source added.

Background

In February, Valerii Zaluzhnyi gave an interview to the Associated Press in which he made several high-profile statements.

In particular, Zaluzhnyi said that during the autumn counteroffensive in 2022, Ukraine's Security Service attempted to search his office while he was serving as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.

He also named what he believes was the key reason behind the failure of Ukraine's 2023 counteroffensive.