Zelensky faces rebellion as Ukraine’s president under growing pressure

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is facing a confluence of crises, testing his ability to lead an increasingly weary nation nearly four years into Russia’s devastating full-scale invasion.

For more than a week, Mr Zelenskyy has struggled to contain the fallout from a $100 million corruption scandal implicating top officials and other associates. The pressure on Mr Zelenskyy has ratcheted up as the United States pushes a proposal it drew up with Russia that would require major concessions from Ukraine — and seemingly few from Russia — to bring an end to the war.

All this is playing out as Russia makes slow but steady advances across parts of the 1,000-kilometre (620-mile) front line and relentlessly bombs Ukraine’s power plants, causing severe electricity shortages as colder weather sets in.

Here are 5 things to know about the growing pressures confronting Zelenskyy:

Zelenskyy has been facing a rebellion from lawmakers in his own party since the country’s corruption watchdogs revealed that $100 million had been embezzled from the energy sector through kickbacks paid by contractors.

After investigators publicized their findings, Zelenskyy dismissed two top officials and imposed sanctions on close associates. One Zelenskyy associate implicated in the scheme, Tymur Mindich, has reportedly fled the country. Mindich is a partner in a media production company that Zelenskyy was a co-owner of before he became president.

Some Ukrainian lawmakers and activists are calling on the president to sack his powerful chief of staff, Andrii Yermak.

Neither Zelenskyy nor Yermak have been accused of wrongdoing by investigators. But because Yermak is widely believed to decide key government appointments and to have sway in top political affairs, lawmakers believe he should take responsibility as a way to help restore the public’s trust.

The Servant of the People party that Zelenskyy leads won over two-thirds of parliamentary seats in 2019. But some politicians warn Zelenskyy could lose his parliamentary majority, or face a split in his party, if he doesn’t part ways with Yermak.

Many of Zelenskyy’s political allies feel something has to change, even if they have not gone public with their concerns, said Mykola Davidiuk, an independent political expert. One of the chief criticisms of Zelenskyy’s government is that too much power is concentrated in the hands of Yermak and his advisers, Davidiuk said.

“The management style of Zelenskyy is not working,” he said.

How decisively Zelenskyy responds to the corruption scandal could determine whether the fallout damages Ukraine’s standing with allies, said Davidiuk.

Russia’s invasion triggered martial law in Ukraine, indefinitely postponing presidential and parliamentary elections.

So even if Zelenskyy’s grip on parliament weakens and his popularity plummets, he is highly unlikely to be unseated while the war is still going on — unless he voluntarily resigns.

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