2023-10-19 05:28:19
These are words which, coming from the mouth of a leading Ukrainian figure, deal a serious blow to the sacred union which had been established in Kiev since the start of the Russian invasion: “Our leaders have exhausted the limits of their skills, they are at an impasse and are leading us to disaster. This is why I insist that elections be held. »
This is what Oleksiy Arestovych, a former presidential advisor who converted to commenting on Ukrainian news, writes. A statement dated October 14 on his Telegram channel, where he is followed by nearly 342,000 people, in addition to the million and a half subscribers to his YouTube channel.
The “myth of the Bakhmout fortress”
This is the first time in twenty months of war that a recognized personality in the Ukrainian political landscape has openly criticized the government. While taking care to specify that all military difficulties are the responsibility “of the political leadership of the country and not of the army”Oleskiy Arestovych accuses kyiv of being responsible for the failure of the counter-offensive in the south by having dedicated “a huge number of troops, equipment and resources to maintain the myth of the Bakhmout fortress”.
Almost unprecedented, too, this call for elections, while the overwhelming majority of civil society as well as the political class still remains opposed to the idea of a vote in time of war. This idea is even described as a “supreme absurdity” by Serhiy Prytoula, an actor who became director of the largest foundation supporting the Ukrainian army.
And yet: despite the force of the message and despite the celebrity of its author, the pamphlet did not cause much of a stir in kyiv. A sign that open criticism of the Ukrainian authorities and its president Volodymyr Zelensky (whom Oleksiy Arestovytch does not mention directly) still remains a taboo in the country, while the situation in Israel has revived fears of a reduction in Western support for Ukraine.
“Don’t advertise in Arestovych,” said Ukrainian political scientist Volodymyr Fesenko from Ukrainian radio NV. “I don’t believe he is a significant player in Ukrainian politics today. »
A controversial figure
This reaction is a sign of the contempt that this colorful character arouses among a large part of the Ukrainian political class and civil society. Oleksiy Arestovych had, at the start of the invasion, acquired immense popularity with a public reassured by his iron optimism, his status as presidential advisor and his experience in Ukrainian military intelligence.
His aura was then tarnished by a multitude of controversial statements, between criticism of civil society and homophobic outings. In January 2023, he speculated that a Russian missile that hit a building in Dnipro was deflected by Ukrainian air defenses. An exit which cost him his position as presidential advisor. Since then, he has undertaken to position himself as one of the main opposition figures, in a political system still largely united behind President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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