“The Battle of the Two Zs”: Does Valeri Zaluzhny Want to Replace Volodymyr Zelensky?

Another embassy regular is Andriy Yermak, Volodymyr Zelensky's powerful chief of staff. During a meeting in November 2024, the latter reportedly suggested that General Zaluzhny formally join the president's political team to present a united front ahead of the upcoming elections.

The latter then reportedly declined the offer, while swearing loyalty to the current president. He also reportedly promised Yermak not to criticize Volodymyr Zelensky in public as long as the war continued, and assured him that he was not preparing any unpleasant surprises. “If I decide to go into politics, you will first learn about it from me, in private,” he reportedly told the chief of staff. So far, Zaluzhny has not confirmed his intention to enter politics, although rumors are growing in Kyiv.

Zaluzhny was 48 when Zelensky promoted him to commander-in-chief in July 2021, a move that surprised most officers in the General Staff, including Zelensky. “Zaluzhny was a bold and ambitious commander, but he had a reputation for preferring to clown around with his troops rather than enforce discipline,” writes American journalist Simon Shuster in his biography of Zelensky. It was precisely this maverick streak that appealed to Zelensky, a former comedian and actor who had risen spectacularly to the presidency two years earlier.

A few months after his appointment, Russia began massing troops on the Ukrainian border. The Biden administration warned Ukraine that Vladimir Putin might be preparing a large-scale invasion. Between these initial American warnings in October 2021 and the February 2022 invasion , Zaluzhny repeatedly called for measures to prepare the country for a possible offensive. For his part, Zelensky was not convinced that an invasion was imminent and did not want to sow panic among the population, thus giving the Russians an excellent excuse to invade the country.

At a meeting of Ukraine's Security Council on February 22, Zaluzhny and then-Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov called on the president to declare martial law, but Zelensky still didn't want to unnecessarily panic Ukrainians. Ultimately, the Security Council voted on less drastic measures. And Russia invaded the country two days later. These disagreements over war preparation will undoubtedly return to the table if the two men face off at the polls.

Once the invasion began, Zelensky delegated military strategy entirely to his commander while he sought to garner international support. Zelensky became the global symbol of Ukrainian resilience, and Zaluzhny acquired near-legendary status within the country as a war hero.

However, as the conflict dragged on, tensions between the two men grew. Almost every strategy meeting ended in disagreement. The presidential team was also beginning to resent Zaluzhny's popularity—as indicated by confidential internal polls. He was almost becoming a living legend.

By February of last year, Zelensky had had enough . After months of speculation, he thanked Zaluzhny and announced he was appointing him ambassador to London. The military needed new ideas, he said. “It’s not a question of personality, and even less of politics,” the president said. He didn’t exactly convince anyone. But Zaluzhny accepted his new assignments with gusto. In a private meeting, the two parted on a cordial note, and Zaluzhny even went so far as to pose with Zelensky to show there was no animosity between them.

For Zaluzhny, who had spent the first two years of the war on adrenaline and sleepless nights, the new life in London represented a disorienting transition. He posted selfies with his wife on subway platforms or during walks along the Thames. In Ukraine, where Zaluzhny is well-known, these images of his new life were not always well received. A black-and-white photoshoot for Vogue Ukraine magazine recently sparked an avalanche of sarcastic memes.

But Zaluzhny has also remained in contact with many army generals, and follows combat operations on secure screens in his office, which broadcast live images from the battlefield.

Privately, Zaluzhny has not confirmed that he plans to enter politics. But he has allowed himself to imagine what kind of platform he might propose if he did make that decision. According to those close to him, he would like to draw inspiration from the example of Israel : a small country surrounded by enemies and dedicated entirely to defending its territory. He would then present himself as a tough and determined leader, who could promise only “blood, sweat, and tears” to the Ukrainian people in exchange for the nation's salvation, like Winston Churchill. In a private conversation, he reportedly said: “I don't know if the Ukrainian people are ready for that kind of sacrifice.”

After his humiliation in the Oval Office in February, the Ukrainian president traveled to London to discuss with Keir Starmer how best to restore good relations. The situation appeared desperate, and some members of the US administration went so far as to openly discuss replacing the Ukrainian president. “I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to work with Zelensky again,” Republican Senator Lindsey Graham declared, in a move calling for his resignation. Shortly afterward, Vance’s office attempted to establish contact with Zaluzhny.

For Zaluzhny, whatever his differences with Zelensky, siding with Trump's team against his own president was absolutely not an option. So he met Zelensky at the airport in London and posted a photo of the two of them shaking hands on social media. It was a powerful symbol of unity at a time when Ukraine was going through its darkest hours, arguably the worst since its invasion. "Many of his supporters didn't understand why he did that," says a source close to Zaluzhny. "But Ukraine had been humiliated and we had to stick together."

This caution has begun to irritate some of Zelensky's opponents in Kyiv, who see Zaluzhny as their best bet for political change. “He's a military man, he knows how to take orders and work within a structure, but he doesn't know how to maneuver politics,” says a former senior official, who hopes to persuade Zaluzhny to run. “A real leader would have taken Vance's call and moved his pawns.” According to another source, the general doesn't want to risk destabilizing the country by launching a campaign against Zelensky: “I don't believe in a battle of the two Zs; it would be a catastrophe for the country, and I don't think he's considering it. He'll only run if Zelensky agrees to step down.”

Last month, Valery Zaluzhny traveled to Kyiv for a six-day summit of Ukrainian ambassadors. The envoys listened to speeches by Zelensky and military leaders, then traveled to areas near the front lines in the Zaporizhzhia region. For most of the diplomats, it was an opportunity to see the war up close and bring firsthand accounts back to their host countries. For Zaluzhny, returning to the front lines as part of a diplomatic tour must have seemed surreal. “He was pleasant but cautious,” said another ambassador at the summit. “You could tell he was careful not to say too much to people he didn't know personally.”

By happy coincidence, Zaluzhny was in Kyiv at the time of the large-scale protests against the government's decision to weaken two anti-corruption agencies [the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (Sapo)]. These protests led Zelensky's team to quickly reverse course. Some hoped that Zaluzhny would choose this moment to formalize his break with Zelensky. "Many people were waiting for him to speak out, but he kept silent," explains Inna Sovsun, an opposition MP.

Zaluzhny then stayed in the capital for a week to meet with several political and civic figures. Rumors circulated that he was looking to recruit members of his future team. But his entourage denied this. “He repeatedly said that as long as the war was going on, we had to work to save the country and not think about elections. And his position hasn't changed,” says Oksana Torop, a former BBC journalist who now works as Zaluzhny's media advisor.

Does the presidency still see Valeri Zaluzhny as a political threat? For Mykhailo Podoliak, an advisor to Volodymyr Zelensky, “Zaluzhny is considered by the president as a member of the team, as an ambassador to an important country. In any case, there are no elections scheduled at the moment.” What if that were the case? “It’s difficult to know what might happen or what certain people would do,” Podoliak said. “It’s impossible to predict.”