Zaluzhnyi tells Zelenskyy that he would run for president if elections were held in fall - media

The former Commander-in-Chief and current Ambassador of Ukraine to the UK Valerii Zaluzhnyi was summoned to Kyiv in connection with preparations for the resignation of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. However, during the meeting, government representatives found out whether Zaluzhnyi would run for president if the elections were held in the fall. He gave an unequivocal answer - "yes".

This is stated in the material of Ukrainian Pravda.

It is indicated that the preparation for Starmer's resignation was the formal reason for summoning Zaluzhnyi to Kyiv. The first part of the meeting between the ambassador and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the beginning of last week consisted of discussing the situation in London. However, according to the publication's sources, surrounded by both participants in the meeting, the President moved on to another topic, allegedly for the sake of which he invited the former Commander-in-Chief to Kyiv.

Zelenskyy raised the issue of a possible presidential election. In the end, the President asked the former Commander-in-Chief a direct question: "If the elections are held in the fall, will you run?"

And, according to the UP interlocutors, he received an unequivocal answer: "Yes. I will."

The publication's sources stated that the conversation continued for some more time, but Zelenskyy did not even offer Zaluzhnyi any options for his further career path. Meanwhile, Zaluzhnyi tried to explain his position by saying that he had never aspired to a political career, but many people have placed their hopes in him, and he will not be able to explain to them why he should disregard their trust.

At the same time, according to the publication, other negotiators were soon sent to Zaluzhnyi - Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Umerov and the head of the presidential faction Arakhamia. They repeated the arguments against the nomination given by Zelenskyy: a possible social split, the danger of an excessively conflictual campaign, risks for the state. This did not change Zaluzhnyi's answer.

It should be noted that Zelenskyy previously stated that holding elections in wartime is possible only after establishing a ceasefire and amending the legislation through parliament. While the question of the need to hold elections in Ukraine was raised by Western partners, in particular the United States.

At the same time, according to the UP, in mid-June, a meeting was held at one of the state residences near Kyiv, where the conversation boiled down to three key questions: whether to hold elections; if so, when; who could become participants in a potential election campaign.

It is alleged that the answer to the first question was discussed based on the results of recent closed sociological surveys for June. According to them, Zelenskyy managed to break the long-standing trend of a slow loss of his own rating. After many months of gradual decline, sociology recorded for the first time, albeit a small, but stable increase in support.

Social research showed that in the first round, approximately 33% of those who had already decided on their choice were ready to vote for the incumbent President. Next is the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who has support at 22%.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, at the beginning of the year, Zaluzhnyi spoke about the tension in his relations with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. According to the former Commander-in-Chief, the tension between him and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arose shortly after the start of russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. The conflicts concerned approaches to defending the country.