Who is ready to problem Zelensky if Ukraine calls an election? Potential rivals embody oligarch mired in corruption and world champion boxer – after Trump’s ‘4% approval ranking’ declare sparked fury

Speculation is mounting over who will emerge as a candidate to challenge Volodymyr Zelensky in the next Ukrainian presidential race after Donald Trump controversially declared the embattled nation should press on with elections.

Calling for Ukraine to head to the ballot box even while under martial law, Trump yesterday insisted that his Ukrainian counterpart had lost the support of his people, and claimed: ‘He’s down at four per cent approval rating’.

The wild statistic was roundly dismissed after a poll conducted by the respected Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) earlier this month reported Zelensky’s approval rating stood at 57 per cent.

In retort, Zelensky today declared that Trump had fallen prey to a Russian disinformation campaign as officials from Washington and Moscow met to begin negotiations on a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire – notably in the absence of Ukrainian representatives.

‘We have evidence that these figures are being discussed between America and Russia. That is, President Trump… unfortunately lives in this disinformation space,’ the Ukrainian President said.

A presidential election was expected to take place in Ukraine in March or April 2024, but it was postponed due to the ongoing war. Under the constitution, Zelensky must stay in office until a new leader is chosen at the ballot box

Ukraine has been under martial law since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, with Parliament having extended the measure every 90 days ever since.

The head of Zelensky’s ‘Servant of the People’ party, David Arakhamia, also pointed out that all political parties had agreed the next elections would be six months after martial law is lifted.

In the meantime, a poll conducted by accredited Ukrainian socio-political research body SOCIS in December 2024 revealed the candidates that may emerge to run challenge Zelensky in a future run-off – and assessed their chances. 

Valery Zaluzhny

Valery Zaluzhny, 51, is one of the war’s most notable figures. 

Known as the ‘Iron General’, he held the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from July 2021 and was responsible for coordinating Kyiv‘s war effort until he was dismissed by Zelensky in February 2024. 

His accession to the top military position in the country came off the back of a stellar career serving Ukraine’s armed forces in various capacities, including as Commander of the 51st Guards Mechanized Brigade from 2009 to 2012, Chief of Staff and First Deputy Commander of the West Operational Command in 2017, and Chief of the Joint Operational Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2018. 

The decision to remove Zaluzhny after almost two years of war last February followed reports the Iron General had fallen out with the President over their differing opinions on how to boost numbers in the army. 

Zelensky also reportedly took umbrage with an interview Zaluzhny gave to The Economist in which he declared the fight against Russia had ground to a stalemate – something the Ukrainian President feared could discourage the West from providing more aid. 

Following his dismissal, Zaluzhny was appointed as Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom in March 2024. 

But he is now seen as a likely frontrunner in a future presidential election.

SOCIS’ December 2024 survey of 2000 Ukrainians across Ukrainian controlled-territory found that 36.1 per cent of respondents would vote for the Iron General if presidential elections were held in the near future.

Zaluzhny has not confirmed whether he would run, but told media this week: ‘In order to answer this question, let’s first get the conditions under which such a question would be absolutely appropriate.

‘For now, we have only one task – to survive and preserve our country. And after that, we will think about other things.’

Volodymyr Zelensky

Volodymyr Zelensky, 47, is Ukraine’s incumbent president, having assumed office in May 2019. 

A former comedian and actor with no prior political experience, he secured a landslide victory in the 2019 presidential election, capturing 73 per cent of the vote against then-President Petro Poroshenko. 

His scarcely believable victory was propelled by a strong anti-corruption message, mirroring his role in the popular television series ‘Servant of the People,’ where he portrayed a teacher who unexpectedly becomes president after a viral rant against corruption. 

Zelensky earned a law degree from his hometown Institute of Economics in Kryvyi Rih, but instead chose to pursue a career as an actor and entertainer. 

He also founded the production company Kvartal 95 which produced several notable Ukrainian films and TV shows, including the aforementioned series that bolstered his political image.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Zelensky has been internationally recognised for his leadership and resilience. He also remains a popular figure in his native land. 

US President Donald Trump’s claim this week that Zelensky’s domestic approval rating languishes at 4 per cent is wholly untrue – a poll conducted by the respected Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) earlier this month reported his approval rating at 57 per cent. 

But SOCIS’ poll of voting attitudes conducted in December has Zelensky in second place. 

The incumbent president trails his former top general by a significant margin with 24.3 per cent of projected votes versus Zaluzhny’s 36.1 per cent. 

Petro Poroshenko

Petro Poroshenko, 59, was Ukraine’s fifth president following the breakup of the Soviet Union, elected in summer 2014 months after the outbreak of war in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.

A Ukrainian oligarch often referred to as the ‘Chocolate King’ after making a fortune as head of the confectionery company Roshen among other ventures in agriculture and manufacturing, he transitioned from business to politics in the late 1990s and charted a path to the top despite allegations of corruption. 

Poroshenko was elected president in June 2014 off the back of the Euromaidan protests against his predecessor Viktor Yanukovych, who in November 2013 backed out of signing an Association Agreement with the EU under pressure from the Kremlin.

Poroshenko’s early years as president were characterised by his pro-EU and pro-Western stance along with efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s military and bring about democratic reforms. 

These came after Russia annexed Crimea and Russian-backed separatists sparked war in the Donbas region – a conflict that ultimately proved to be the prelude to full-scale war in 2022. 

But decades of corruption allegations came back to bite the oligarch, who despite being elected president was named in 2015 as a billionaire by Forbes, and he lost the 2019 election to Zelensky.

Now, Poroshenko heads up one of Ukraine’s leading opposition parties, EuroSolidarity, and is seen as the third most likely candidate to be elected president in future Ukrainian elections – though he trails Zelensky and Zaluzhny by a huge margin. 

SOCIS’ December 2024 survey found he would likely earn 9.4 per cent of the votes.

Poroshenko sensationally declared last week that Ukraine was preparing for elections in October – a claim that was immediately shut down by Zelensky’s party. 

His statement came days after Ukraine’s Security Service announced that Kyiv had imposed sanctions on Poroshenko, including asset freezes and a ban on withdrawing capital from Ukraine. Poroshenko claimed the sanctions were politically motivated.  

Yulia Tymoshenko 

Yulia Tymoshenko, 64, is one of Ukraine’s most enduring political figures, but despite her popularity, she has never managed to claim the presidency.

She is the only woman to have ever served as the country’s prime minister, she led the government twice – first in 2005 and again from 2007 to 2010 – and has long been a staunch supporter of Ukraine’s integration with Europe.

Tymoshenko began her career as an economist and a notable businesswoman in Ukraine’s gas industry, but like many successful businesspeople used her wealth to orchestrate a transition into politics.

She occupied a leading role in Ukraine’s Orange Revolution in 2004, a spate of pro-democracy protests which ultimately overturned the election of Viktor Yanukovych amid widespread suspicions of election rigging.

But Yanukovych got his revenge in the 2010 election, beating Tymoshenko to the presidency by just 3.5 percentage points.

In 2014, after spending three years in prison on charges widely seen as being politically motivated under Yanukovych’s rule, she ran again but finished a distant second to Petro Poroshenko.

Having stumbled twice at the final hurdle, it seemed Tymoshenko had a strong chance of becoming president ahead of the 2019 elections.

She was long seen as one of the front-running candidates, but was shockingly eliminated in the first round of voting and ultimately finished third behind Poroshenko and Zelensky.

Tymoshenko remains a member of Ukraine’s parliament and the leader of the ‘Fatherland’ (Batkivshchyna) party – though her chances of finally claiming the country’s top job appear slimmer than ever.

SOCIS’ survey said Tymoshenko could expect to earn just 6 per cent of votes cast in a future presidential election.

Vitaly Klitschko 

Of all the names on this list, Vitaly Klitschko is perhaps the most well-known among a Western audience besides incumbent president Zelensky – though not for his political clout.

The current Mayor of Kyiv was a world-renowned boxer, winning multiple world heavyweight championships alongside his brother Wladimir during a period of sibling dominance known as the ‘Klitschko era’.

In 2005, Vitaly – still an active heavyweight fighter – began his transition into politics, using his platform to great effect amid his maiden attempt to run in the Kyiv mayoral race.

He narrowly missed out in the 2006 mayoral elections but went on to found a new political party called the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR) in 2010, all while continuing to fight at the highest level.

Klitschko’s final bout came in 2012 – the same year he was elected to the Ukrainian parliament as part of the UDAR party.

He later emerged as a key opposition leader during the Euromaidan protests in 2013–2014, advocating for democratic reforms and closer ties with the European Union.

In May 2014, Klitschko was elected mayor of Kyiv and has earned the enduring support of its residents, winning all subsequent elections.

He has been seen as a resilient leader of the city in the face of Russian aggression following the February 2022 invasion.

But he is also a vocal critic of Zelensky, whom he has accused of displaying ‘autocratic’ tendencies.

Klitschko’s platform and long-term support as mayor could be leveraged in a future presidential bid, but SOCIS’ survey found the former boxer would likely only receive 2 per cent of votes in an election.

Other possible candidates in the next Ukrainian presidential election according to SOCIS include independent MP Dmytro Razumkov, Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov, founder and first commander of the Azov regiment Andriy Biletsky, and European Solidarity MP Oleksy Honcharenko.