In a startling revelation, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of transforming Ukraine into an authoritarian state akin to Russia.
Klitschko, a former heavyweight boxing champion turned politician, has publicly criticized Zelensky, a former comedian and actor, for the first time since Russia's invasion of Ukraine 21 months ago.
Despite their political rivalry, Klitschko's public denunciation has taken many by surprise, especially considering the ongoing war crisis in the country. "At some point we will no longer be any different from Russia, where everything depends on the whim of one man," Klitschko told German news outlet Der Spiegel.
Klitschko, who has been serving as Kyiv's mayor since 2014, commended his fellow mayors and regional governors for their efforts in preventing Ukraine's slide into authoritarianism. "There is currently only one independent institution, but enormous pressure is being exerted on it: local self-government," he stated.
The mayor, who has been at odds with Zelensky since the onset of the war due to the dismal state of Kyiv's emergency shelters, alleged that the president has become isolated. He claimed that they never meet or converse, despite their offices being in close proximity.
In a separate interview with Swiss news site 20Minutes, Klitschko accused Zelensky of deceiving the public about Ukraine's progress in the brutal conflict. He concurred with Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the Ukrainian military's commander in chief, who last month stated that the war had reached a "stalemate" following a disappointing counteroffensive that failed to deal a decisive blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces.
Zaluzhnyi cautioned that the war could potentially last for years and dampened hopes of a "beautiful breakthrough" unless Ukraine devises a game-changing strategy akin to the invention of gunpowder. Zelensky, however, took exception to Zaluzhnyi's remarks to The Economist, maintaining that the conflict, despite recent slowdowns, was far from a "stalemate."
"[Zaluzhnyi] told the truth," Klitschko asserted. "Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth. Of course, we can euphorically lie to our people and our partners. But you can't do that forever. Some of our politicians have criticized Zaluzhnyi for the clear words wrongly. I stand behind him."
Klitschko, 52, contended that Zelensky's popularity has been waning since the war began in February 2022, when he emerged as the symbol of Ukraine's fight for survival. The mayor predicted that the president will eventually lose power due to his "mistakes."
"People see who's effective and who's not. And there were and still are a lot of expectations. Zelensky is paying for mistakes he has made," Klitschko stated. He echoed a common criticism of Zelensky, accusing the president of downplaying the risk of a Russian invasion until it was too late, leaving Ukraine woefully unprepared for Putin's occupying forces.
"People wonder why we weren't better prepared for this war, why Zelensky denied until the end that it would come to this," Klitschko said. In his extensive interview with Der Spiegel, Klitschko lauded local officials, not Zelensky's administration, for repelling Russian attacks in the early stages of the war.
However, despite his numerous grievances, Klitschko refrained from calling for Zelensky's immediate removal. "The president has an important function today, and we have to support him until the end of the war," Klitschko said. "But at the end of this war, every politician will pay for his successes or failures."
Zelensky's office has yet to publicly respond to Klitschko's criticisms. However, in his nightly address to the nation on Monday, Zelensky seemed to subtly rebuke his critics, expressing gratitude "to those who do not put their personal interests above the interests of the Ukrainian state."
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