‘Persecution and terror’: Ukraine Opposition leader accuses Zelenskyy of election ‘purge’

Former Prime Minister of Ukraine, Yulia Tymoshenko, slammed the country’s current President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, alleging a “purge” tied to the elections in the war-torn nation. The remarks from Tymoshenko came after her office was raided by Ukrainian corruption investigators probing alleged bribery of parliamentarians to sway their votes.

The allegation is significant since Tymoshenko is a likely rival of Zelenskyy if he stands for reelection. “I categorically reject all these absurd accusations” in a response posted to her Facebook page. It is pertinent to note that Ukraine is long overdue for presidential elections. The polls have been put on hold because of Russia’s ongoing invasion of the country, triggering martial law.

The Constitution of Ukraine forbids elections when martial law is in place, and the country is engaged in a war-like situation. However, Zelenskyy has said that he would be willing to hold elections very quickly once peace is restored or at least a ceasefire is in place.

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The Ukrainian leader has been open to conducting elections amid concerns from the Trump administration about his popularity and credibility. Although it is still not clear if Zelenskyy himself would run in the poll. In the past, the Ukrainian leader has said that he is not a peacetime leader, and voters may want someone with a new mandate.

“It seems the elections are much closer than they appeared,” Tymoshenko, a People’s Deputy of Ukraine with the Batkivshchyna party, said in her statement on Wednesday. “And someone has decided to begin a purge of competitors. This is not the first political hit job against me. Persecution and terror have been my daily reality for many years. I have long since stopped being afraid, because I know that I am honest with myself, with the people, and with Ukraine. No one can break me or stop me. And this time, once again, we will prove the truth,” she added.

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What Zelenskyy’s future looks like

In an interview with Axios back in September, Zelenskyy shared an insight into his political future. He insisted that he was “ready not to” stand in elections once the war is over. “My goal is to finish the war,” Zelenskyy said, adding that Ukraine would hold presidential elections when the Russian invasion ends.

The Ukrainian comedian-turned politician was elected to lead the country in a landslide in 2019. If it had not been Russia’s invasion of the Eastern European nation, his term would have ended in May 2024.

Since his time in the office, Zelenskyy's popularity has fluctuated from the highs of over 90 per cent at the start of the war to still well above 60 per cent. However, despite his decent popularity as a wartime leader, Zelenskyy has also faced protests in July 2025 after his allies in parliament tried to weaken the country’s independent anti-corruption agencies, before the move was reversed.

He has also faced backlash over the conscription of Ukrainians to fight in the war with Russia. Not only this, Zelenskyy’s inner circle was rocked last year by a $100 million corruption scandal that toppled his influential chief of staff and longtime ally, Andriy Yermak.

In March 2025, four senior members of Trump’s team held secret talks with Zelensky's top election rivals—Tymoshenko and former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko—and discussed whether the country could hold wartime elections. Both Poroshenko and Tymoshenko confirmed they had been in touch with Trump administration officials at the time. However, they said that they opposed the idea of conducting polls during wartime.

With inputs from agencies.