The military officers with the highest public trust ratings – former Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi (now Ambassador to the UK) and Chief of the Defence Intelligence Service Kyrylo Budanov – are not currently seen as part of the ruling team. On the contrary, according to recent opinion polls, they are perceived as opposition figures.
This was stated by Roman Romaniuk, a political commentator at Ukrayinska Pravda, in a new episode of the UP-2 podcast.
“Kirill Budanov and Valery Zaluzhny could potentially be certain pillars of a conventional new ruling party. But if you look at the polls now, both are perceived as opposition figures rather than pro-government,” Romaniuk said.
The analyst emphasized that there is currently no evidence that Zaluzhnyi or Budanov are or plan to become members of the political team of current President Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
According to Romanyuk, the overall picture of the upcoming elections in Ukraine will depend on who emerges as “national heroes.”
“Bankova does not currently have any military officers who could be included in the top ten of Zelensky’s party and who would bring electoral support. Those who appear in the ratings today are not part of the ruling team,” the expert stated.
