Volodymyr Zelensky is the president of Ukraine. Elected in 2019 in a landslide, his five-year term expired in May 2024, but elections have not been held under martial law. Before entering politics he starred in "Servant of the People", a satirical television show; his media production company, Kvartal 95, has remained a point of controversy.
On July 22nd 2025 Ukraine's parliament passed a bill, orchestrated by Zelensky and Andriy Yermak, placing the country's two main independent anti-corruption bodies—NABU and SAPO—under presidential control. It was the first law to draw anti-Zelensky protests since the Russian invasion. After international backlash, Zelensky introduced a new bill that in effect reversed the changes.
Zelensky wields more formal power than any Ukrainian presidential predecessor. Since 2019 his team has systematically personalised power: the cabinet has been treated as an administrative extension of the presidential office, with loyalty trumping competence. War, and his decision to remain in Kyiv, allowed him to centralise further. Decisions flowed through a shrinking circle of confidants, most prominently Andriy Yermak, his chief of staff; one former minister described the two as "alter egos", in effect running a joint presidency. Internal polling as of late 2025 suggested Zelensky could win re-election, leading his nearest likely rival, Valery Zaluzhny, in a first round but potentially losing in the second.
In November 2025 Zelensky faced what sources in government described as his most challenging test since Russia's full-scale invasion. Detectives from NABU uncovered a scheme to embezzle at least $100m from Energoatom, the state nuclear company, implicating members of his inner circle. Parliament voted to dismiss two ministers. Timur Mindich, a former business partner of Zelensky's and an alleged co-organiser, fled the country. Sources close to the investigation had not established how high knowledge of the scheme went, but the proximity of his close allies was enough to jeopardise his future. MPs pressed Zelensky to purge tainted allies, with some demanding a new government of national unity. Growing criticism also focused on Andriy Yermak, who had alienated both friends and enemies by monopolising access to the president.
On December 8th 2025 Zelensky pushed back against Donald Trump's latest peace proposal, rejecting its demand that Ukraine cede territory without credible security guarantees. Trump responded that Ukraine was losing the war and that Zelensky had usurped power by avoiding an election. That evening Zelensky told press he was ready for an election "in the next 60 to 90 days", if America and Europe could guarantee its safety.
After Andriy Yermak's forced departure on November 28th 2025, three figures were under consideration as successor: Mykhailo Fedorov, the reform-minded deputy prime minister; General Kyrylo Budanov, the intelligence chief; and Sergiy Kyslytsya, the deputy foreign minister. On December 9th Zelensky floated abolishing the presidential office altogether. Insiders said he might move towards a government led by security officials, in which case the popular spy chief would be the likely choice.
Zelensky wants Ukraine to join the EU by January 2027—a shortcut that existing members are wary of. With NATO membership "dead" for the foreseeable future, EU accession is the remaining way for Ukraine to anchor itself in Europe. France and Germany are pushing associate forms of membership, possibly with the EU's mutual-defence clause (Article 42.7) extended to Ukraine as part of a provisional arrangement. Friedrich Merz said Zelensky would need to be given a pathway to full EU membership in order to win a peace referendum involving territorial concessions.
On April 24th 2025 Zelensky arrived in South Africa for his first-ever state visit to Africa. His former foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, had made four official tours of the continent since the start of the war with little to show for them. Zelensky has spoken to African counterparts by phone and on the sidelines of UN summits but has not been given the opportunity to address the African Union directly; when the AU sent an invitation earlier in 2025, member states were "not comfortable" and the idea was scrapped.
If you go out of your mind, do it quietly, so as not to disturb those around you.