The Office of the President of Ukraine is persuading Zaluzhny not to run in the presidential elections, threatening him with criminal charges, according to media reports

Ukrainian media confirm reports that the Office of the President is pressuring Ambassador to the UK Valerii Zaluzhnyi not to run in the presidential elections to allow President Volodymyr Zelensky to seek re-election.

This information was reported today by the publication Telegraph, citing a source close to the president.

According to the published details, should Zaluzhnyi refuse this proposal, the former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is being threatened with criminal charges, particularly concerning the “surrender” of Kherson Oblast at the beginning of the Russian invasion. The article also mentions that if Zaluzhnyi agrees, he has been promised the top spot on the president’s party list in parliamentary elections and the position of Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada.

The article claims that Ukraine’s current president has already decided to run for a second term and is confident of winning, but only if Zaluzhnyi does not participate, as sociological surveys show the general as the frontrunner.

When asked about his participation in the elections, Zaluzhnyi reportedly replied, “First, we will preserve statehood, and then we’ll talk about it.”

Earlier in December, it was reported that one of the main goals of the Office of the President was to politically neutralize Zaluzhnyi, attempting to dissuade him, through various means, from entering the race.