Putin and Russia-friendly politicians have long sought to portray Zelenskyy\u2019s rule as illegitimate. The Ukrainian president was elected by a landslide in 2019 but has not faced a public vote since Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine more than four years ago.<\/p>\n
Although Zelenskyy has faced pressure from international leaders to hold elections \u2014 including U.S. President Donald Trump \u2014 he has steadfastly maintained that they cannot take place during wartime. In February, he offered elections in exchange for a ceasefire<\/a>. Putin, however, kept the war going.<\/p>\n The Ukrainian leader has been a figurehead for his country since the full-scale invasion, but his initial popularity<\/a> has begun to visibly wane<\/a> in the past year, amid allegations of corruption and complaints about the transparency of his government.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople do not demand that the state never make mistakes,\u201d Fedorov said. \u201cBut they have a right to the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n Even before the controversial reshuffle, Zelenskyy was beginning to seem more isolated, having lost members of his inner circle including his trusted chief of staff Andriy Yermak, who was arrested on corruption charges<\/a> in May, which he has denied.<\/p>\n The president \u2014 who has received near-unconditional backing from establishment politicians in Europe \u2014 would be able to point toward the progress he has made toward EU membership if he is pushed into an election campaign. Membership of the bloc is seen as crucial to Ukraine\u2019s postwar future. <\/p>\n