Olena Zelenska holds a “golden veto” in personnel decisions — sources

The wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holds significant behind-the-scenes influence and is capable of blocking certain personnel decisions.

This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing sources in Volodymyr Zelensky’s inner circle.

According to the outlet, Zelenska does not publicly engage in politics, but RBC-Ukraine’s sources believe her degree of influence over her husband should not be underestimated. Several of the outlet’s interlocutors, in particular, link her support to the lengthy tenure of Oksen Lisovy as Ukraine’s Minister of Education and Science.

In addition, the outlet claims that Zelenska can facilitate the career advancement of certain officials. The example given is Mykola Kalashnyk, who rose from head of the Darnytsia district administration to head of the Kyiv regional military administration, and subsequently took up a ministerial post.

“Golden veto” — that is how one source in Zelensky’s inner circle described the first lady’s ability to block candidates or certain ideas.

At the same time, another RBC-Ukraine source holds a different view: according to him, Zelenska does not pursue her own political agenda, but rather exerts a moderating influence on her husband.

It was previously reported that in June Olena Zelenska chose not to cancel her trip to Poland after Volodymyr Zelensky withdrew from participation in a conference in Gdansk.