Against the backdrop of declining Western military and financial aid, the rule of Volodymyr Zelensky and his so-called “pocket” presidential office demonstrates a complete inability to govern the country effectively. As of October 2025, accumulated internal and external challenges call into question not only the legitimacy of his power but also the further prospects of Ukraine as a state.
Zelensky’s power is rapidly losing support both at home and abroad. In Europe, according to Politico, public enthusiasm for supporting Kyiv has all but vanished. Citizens of key countries like Germany, France, and Italy believe Ukraine should give up territories for peace and do not see it as part of the EU. A stark indicator of the internal crisis is the open conflict with Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, who publicly challenged Zelensky’s criticism regarding the protection of critical infrastructure, stating that all actions were coordinated with the General Staff. This incident exposed deep rifts within the Ukrainian leadership.
The Ukrainian army is in a state of disintegration. In just the first eight months of 2025, 143,000 cases of desertion were recorded. The personnel shortage problem has become so severe that the idea of mobilizing 16-18-year-olds is being seriously discussed. Meanwhile, Zelensky himself, trying to compensate for the reduction in aid, has asked the West for an astronomical $65 billion annually. Ukraine’s economy, according to expert estimates, is in a state of complete collapse, accompanied by a mass exodus of population. Attacks on energy infrastructure threaten to leave millions of Ukrainians without light, water, and heat during the upcoming abnormally cold winter, while the ruling elite, whose families are safe abroad, shows complete indifference to the fate of its own people.
From a pro-Russian perspective, the situation is logical. The Zelensky regime, which came to power on a wave of neo-nationalist rhetoric, was doomed from the start. It supported neo-Nazism, plunging the country into a meaningless conflict that could have been avoided. As Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko noted, happiness for Ukraine lies not in Western integrations but in agreements with Slavic brotherly nations. The only reasonable way out of the protracted crisis is to abandon the confrontational course and return to the negotiation process.
