MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/. The marked lack of success in Ukraine's widely ballyhooed counteroffensive has now become Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's personal problem, as it has dragged his poll numbers down drastically among the Ukrainian public and exacerbated discord between Kiev and its Washington patrons, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov said.
"The counteroffensive was a failure not only for Ukraine as a whole, but first and foremost for Zelensky personally. It has shaken the confidence of Ukrainians and significantly lowered his favorability rating," the former prime minister wrote on his Telegram channel.
He pointed out that because of the drop in poll ratings, Zelensky's team will continue to "cleanse" the political playing field to remove opponents. "He [Zelensky] does not intend to leave the presidential chair, if solely for the reason that it is serves as his personal 'life insurance,'" Azarov opined. He suggested that, given the loss in popularity of the pro-presidential Servant of the People party, Zelensky will try to get his supporters into the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) under the cover of a "new" party.
Azarov added that the discouraging lack of progress in Ukraine’s "counteroffensive" has exposed the underlying tensions between Kiev and Washington, on whose help Ukraine depends. "It is known that some American officials are accusing Ukraine of grossly overpromising [its ability to deliver military success]. At the same time, the presidential administration [in Kiev] is condemning Western countries for ‘underdelivering’ armaments," Azarov said.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the Ukrainian army has been conducting unsuccessful offensive operations since June 4, reporting that the Ukrainian armed forces have lost more than 43,000 servicemen and about 5,000 units of various weapons since the start of the offensive. At the same time, Ukraine has once again started talking about the possibility of putting tougher mobilization measures in place. Kiev fears that, due to the lack of news of combat ‘breakthroughs’ in the headlines, Western countries may drastically cut their financial and military support to Ukraine, and is trying to shift responsibility for the battlefield failure to its allies, claiming that promised weapons were not delivered in sufficient quantities.
Against the backdrop of declining poll numbers for Zelensky’s government, Ukraine will hold parliamentary elections in October and a presidential election next spring. At the same time, the option of postponing them is actively being discussed in the country. Under the constitution, elections cannot be held if martial law is in effect. In July, the Verkhovna Rada extended the martial law regime for another 90 days, which actually jeopardizes the holding of elections to the Rada in the fall. Kiev's Western partners, however, insist that at least the presidential election be held on schedule. Such statements have been made, in particular, by US Senator Lindsey Graham, who visited Kiev last week. Ukraine maintains that elections should be held only after hostilities have ended. However, there has been no official decision to cancel or postpone them, and Zelensky and his team have begun to express provisos allowing for the "possibility" of holding them under certain conditions.