Zelenska attends a ceremony in Kyiv in Nov. 2023. (Kirill Chubotin / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
First Lady Olena Zelenska told The Economist that she does not want President Volodymyr Zelensky to lead another term and that he needs to find something new in life.
"I don't want him to be president for another term or two terms,” she told journalists.
When asked about how she envisions her future, she said "our family will reunite. We will live together all the time. After that we’ll take a vacation.”
There has been heated debate over whether Ukraine needs to hold a national election in March next year as originally scheduled.
Zelensky said in November that it was "not the right time" for elections.
Lance Luo (Li P. Luo) is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. Previously, he worked at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Hromadske Television in Kyiv. He also spent three years in finance and strategy consulting. Mr. Luo graduated from the University of Southern California and serves as an arbitrator at FINRA.
The budget foresees Hr 4.8 trillion ($115 billion) in expenditures and Hr 2.9 trillion ($70 billion) in revenues — meaning a deficit of 18.5% of GDP, according to Kyiv-based think tank Center for Economic Strategy (CES).
Russia has centralized volunteer drone units like Rubikon into a professional system that is eroding Ukraine’s early edge in UAV warfare and threatening its front lines.
"Today we have finally restored historical justice and turned the page on years of distortions that were used for political pressure and to legitimize Russification. We have demonstrated our maturity as a European state," Language Ombudsman Olena Ivanovska said on Dec. 3.
The Kyiv Appeals Court ordered on Dec. 3 the release of Ruslan Mahamedrasulov, a detective with Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), who had been investigating the country's largest corruption case involving the state-run nuclear power monopoly Energoatom.
European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said that the EU would cover two-thirds of Ukraine's needs over the next two years, which she said amounts to 90 billion euros, leaving the rest to international partners.
The Kyiv Independent’s Martin Fornusek speaks with U.S. Senator Peter Welch about the bipartisan Senate backlash to the Trump administration’s 28-point Ukraine peace plan. Welch explains why the U.S. must defer to Ukraine on the terms of peace and why he supports tougher sanctions and stronger military aid to counter Russia’s aggression.
Only about 19.4% of Ukrainians consider a potential entry into NATO as the best possible security guarantee, a 10% drop from last year, according to a survey.
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Independent, under fire — and unstoppable with you on board
Independent journalism is never easy, and it’s even harder in wartime. Yet we can do it without paywalls, billionaires, or compromise — because of our community. Help us reach 25,000 members by the end of 2025.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
