Vitali Klitschko, the Mayor of Kyiv, Ukraine, has spoken out against President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in recent interviews with news outlets. Klitschko has been openly critical of Zelenskyy’s handling of the war with Russia. Then, of course, there is the obvious issue with corruption in Ukraine which is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. The Mayor and President have been at odds with each other for quite a while. This feud goes back to possibly 2014 when Klitschko became Mayor. Their tit-for-tat battle has escalated after transcripts of Klitschko’s interviews with German news outlet Der Spiegel and Swedish news outlet 20 Minutes hit the media.
The Mayor of Kyiv referred to Zelenskyy as an autocrat akin to Vladimir Putin of Russia. He also says that the fate and future of Ukraine are becoming more and more dependent on the mood of one person, just like Russia. One key issue that Klitschko has with Zelenskyy is his refusal to accept that Ukraine is not doing well in the war. Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the Ukrainian military’s commander-in-chief, says that the war has ground to a stalemate. He continued by saying that the only way Ukraine climbs out of this quagmire is with a miraculous intervention such as the invention of gunpowder. Zelenskyy has publicly rebuked those remarks while Klitschko has the exact opposite point of view and agrees with General Zaluzhnyi.
SOURCES:
Ukraine’s Zelensky is turning into an autocrat, claims Kyiv mayor
Klitschko claims Ukraine descending into authoritarianism under Zelensky
Ukraine-Russia war: Zelensky is turning into an autocrat, says Kyiv mayor Klitschko | The Independent
Zelensky is losing popularity because of his mistakes, says mayor of Kyiv in rare public rebuke
Kyiv’s political feuds cause cracks in Ukrainian unity
