On the war front, Ukrainian forces have battled Russian troops to near stalemate, and Ukrainian drones are inflicting pain at the pump for Russian drivers, successes that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is happy to bask in.On the home front, however, there’s another yet another less-glowing battle looming: Zelenskyy's political fights as he tried to keep his war-time government in the good graces of an exhausted Ukrainian electorate.Zelenskyy on July 12 ordered another major shake-up of his Cabinet, pushing out his prime minister. It’s the second shuffle of his government this year and at least the third since the start of Russia’s all-out war in February 2022.“Personnel changes will begin in Ukraine to ensure the implementation of the updated political strategy,” he said in a statement posted to social media on July 12. He gave no further explanation.
Mostly popular as the country’s first and only wartime president, Zelenskyy’s popularity is falling. Pressure is building for him to relent and order new elections, something his political allies argue has been impossible due to the imposition of martial law because of the war.There’s a handful of public political figures who are keeping their powder dry, waiting for the chance to take a shot at unseating Zelenskyy. Ukraine’s former top commander-in-chief, who is now ambassador to London, is chief among them.“Ukraine remains at war and cannot have elections, so these kinds of rotations are the only way to bring in 'fresh' effective cadre,” said Orysia Lutsevych, an analyst and head of the Ukraine Forum at Chatham House, a London think tank.
