Back
Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The head of the Presidential Office, Kyrylo Budanov, is one of the likely contenders for the presidency in Ukraine. Al Jazeera points to his military experience, operations under the leadership of the GUR, and a high level of public trust in a material about potential rivals of Volodymyr Zelenskiy, published in 12 October.
The article appeared after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Ukraine needs a new president. Among the likely contenders, the publication considers Budanov, former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, and Mykhailo Fedorov.
“Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov is the second most popular and charismatic military leader who has a chance to become Ukraine’s president,” writes Al Jazeera.
The author recalls Budanov’s involvement in operations against Russia even before the full-scale invasion, notably in occupied Crimea in 2016 year. The publication also notes that under his leadership, the GUR became a intelligence service that actively uses modern technologies.
Separately in the material, they mentioned the GUR’s drone attacks on the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which, according to the publication, forced Russian ships to retreat from occupied Crimea to Novorossiysk.
According to the data cited by Al Jazeera from October polling by the Rating group, Budanov is trusted by 53% of Ukrainians, while 31% express distrust. Zelenskiy is trusted by 53%, Zaluzhnyi by 64% in the same poll.
Zaluzhnyi, the publication’s interview with the head of the Center “Penta,” Volodymyr Fesenko, named the most likely alternative to Zelenskiy and his most dangerous competitor capable of winning the election. At the same time, Al Jazeera notes that the former commander’s views on economic recovery and other postwar development issues remain little known.
Fedorov is singled out by the author for digitalizing public services and developing military technologies. Among other potential contenders mentioned in the article are Yevhen Khmara, Foreign Minister Dmytro Siban, and fifth president Petro Poroshenko.
At the same time, the publication believes Zelenskiy remains in the race for a second term, and renewed pressure from Trump could strengthen his public support.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Al Jazeera назвала Буданова серед імовірних суперників Зеленського на виборах поряд із Залужним і Федоровим". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Gordon.
