Zelensky’s five-year presidential term expired in May 2024, but he has refused to hold new elections, citing martial law. The question of his popularity was raised last week by US President Donald Trump, who branded Zelensky a “dictator without elections” who is “down at a 4% approval rating.”

Speaking on Monday, Putin noted that Zelensky’s popularity is significantly lower than that of potential rival General Valery Zaluzhny, the former commander of Ukraine’s armed forces. In an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin, Putin suggested that if other political figures backed Zaluzhny, Zelensky’s chances of reelection would be “absolutely zero.”

“They are equal to zero. Unless, of course, something is grossly rigged, but this is also bad for him – it will be very noticeable,” Putin stated.

“The fact is that the current head of the Kiev regime is becoming a toxic figure for the Ukrainian armed forces because he gives absurd orders dictated not by military considerations, but by political ones, and it is unclear what they are based on,” Putin said.

He added that Zelensky’s leadership had resulted in “unjustifiably large or catastrophic losses,” making him “toxic for society as a whole.”

“Therefore, [Zelensky] is a factor in the disintegration of the army, society, and the state. And President Trump certainly understands this and is pushing him toward elections,” Putin said, adding that Trump apparently “wants to improve the political situation in Ukraine, consolidate society, and create conditions for the survival of the Ukrainian state.”

Putin has repeatedly said that he no longer considers Zelensky the legitimate head of state. Trump has also recently questioned Zelensky’s leadership, accusing him of mismanaging the conflict with Russia and misusing American financial aid.

Zelensky accused Trump of falling for “Russian disinformation,” citing a January poll that allegedly indicated 57% of Ukrainians trusted him. However, data cited by The Economist last week suggested that Zelensky would lose to Zaluzhny by a wide margin if elections were held today, as many Ukrainians are “clearly frustrated with their war leader.”

According to Putin, Zelensky – who has banned himself from talks with Moscow – is actively sabotaging any peace process, as it would require lifting martial law, which allows him to remain in power. Without martial law, the country would be compelled to hold elections, a scenario Putin believes Zelensky is determined to avoid.

The growing divide follows Trump’s decision to open direct negotiations with Russia on ending the war, dismaying Ukraine and its European supporters by excluding them from the preliminary talks last week.

In the U.N. General Assembly, the U.S. joined Russia in voting against a Europe-backed Ukrainian resolution that calls out Moscow’s aggression and demands an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops.

The U.S. then abstained from voting on its own competing resolution after Europeans. led by France, succeeded in amending it to make clear Russia was the aggressor. The voting was taking place on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion and as Trump was hosting French President Emmanuel Macron in Washington.

It was a major setback for the Trump administration in the 193-member world body, whose resolutions are not legally binding but are seen as a barometer of world opinion.

The U.S. then pushed for a vote on its original draft in the more powerful U.N. Security Council, where resolutions are legally binding and it has veto power along with Russia, China, Britain and France. The vote in the 15-member council was 10-0 with five European countries abstaining – Britain, France, Denmark, Greece and Slovenia.

The dueling resolutions also reflect the tensions that have emerged between the U.S. and Ukraine. In escalating rhetoric, Trump has called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator” for not holding elections during wartime, when much of Ukraine is under Russian occupation, its soldiers are on the frontlines and the country is under martial law.

Trump also has falsely accused Kyiv of starting the war and warned that he “better move fast” to negotiate an end to the conflict or risk not having a nation to lead. Zelensky responded by saying Trump was living in a Russian-made “disinformation space.”

In a whirlwind of diplomacy, Trump’s meeting with Macron will be followed by a visit on Thursday from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, key U.S. allies who were in lockstep with Washington on Ukraine just over a month ago. They now find themselves on opposite sides on the best pathway for the UN to call for an end to the war.

The General Assembly voted 93-18 with 65 abstentions to approve the Ukrainian resolution. The result showed some diminished support for Ukraine, because previous assembly votes saw more than 140 nations condemn Russia’s aggression and demand an immediate withdrawal.

The assembly then turned to the U.S.-drafted resolution, which acknowledges “the tragic loss of life throughout the Russia-Ukraine conflict” and “implores a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia,” but never mentions Moscow’s aggression.

In a surprise move, France proposed three amendments, which add that the conflict was the result of a “full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.” The amendments reaffirm the assembly’s commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity, and call for peace that respects the U.N. Charter.

Russia proposed an amendment calling for “root causes” of the conflict to be addressed.

All the amendments were approved and the resolution passed 93-8 with 73 abstentions, with Ukraine voting “yes,” the U.S. abstaining, and Russia voting “no.”

Both assembly resolutions were supported by U.S. allies in Asia, including Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, its neighbors Canada and Mexico and European countries, with the exception of Hungary.

Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa said her country is exercising its “inherent right to self-defense” following Russia’s invasion, which violates the U.N. Charter’s requirement that countries respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other nations.

“As we mark three years of this devastation — Russia’s full invasion against Ukraine — we call on all nations to stand firm and to take … the side of the Charter, the side of humanity and the side of just and lasting peace, peace through strength,” she added.

Trump has often stated his commitment to bringing “peace through strength.”

Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward warned the council, “If Russia is allowed to win, we will live in a world where might is right, where borders can be redrawn by force, where aggressors think they can act with impunity.”

Denmark’s Lotte Machon, a deputy foreign minister, stressed that in peace negotiations, “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine, nothing about European security without Europe.”

U.S. deputy ambassador Dorothy Shea, meanwhile, said multiple previous U.N. resolutions condemning Russia and demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops “have failed to stop the war,” which “has now dragged on for far too long and at far too terrible a cost to the people in Ukraine and Russia and beyond.”

“What we need is a resolution marking the commitment from all U.N. member states to bring a durable end to the war,” Shea noted before the vote.

In the Security Council, Russia used its veto to prevent European amendments to the U.S. resolution, which is legally blinding but essentially toothless. It only operative paragraph “Implores a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.”

Shea called it “a first step, but a crucial one,” saying it “puts us on the path to peace.”

The General Assembly has become the most important U.N. body on Ukraine because the Security Council has been paralyzed by Russia’s veto power. It has approved half a dozen resolutions since Russian forces stormed across the border on Feb. 24, 2022.

The Ukrainian resolution adopted Monday recalls the need to implement the previous resolutions, singling out the demand that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine.”

The resolution reaffirms the assembly’s commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and also “that no territorial acquisition resulting from the threat or use of force shall be recognized as legal.”

It calls for “a de-escalation, an early cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution of the war against Ukraine” and it reiterates “the urgent need to end the war this year.”

The new measures, announced on the third anniversary of the all-out war, target Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers, banks, aluminum imports, and other sectors.

“For three years now, Russia has relentlessly bombed Ukraine, attempting to steal land that isn’t theirs to take,” the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said in a statement.

“There is no doubt about who the aggressor is, who should pay and be held accountable for this war. Every sanction package deprives the Kremlin of funds to wage war.”

Forty-eight persons and 35 entities were listed in the 16th package of sanctions, which was approved by EU ambassadors last week.

The package expands restrictions against the “shadow fleet” — a group of aging tankers used to evade sanctions—by targeting 73 additional vessels, bringing the total to 153.

For the first time, the EU also imposed a transaction ban on financial institutions outside Russia that use the Russian System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS), a Russian alternative to the international SWIFT payment system.

The package further included 53 entities supporting Russia’s military and industrial complex, eight Russian propaganda outlets like the Eurasia Daily, Lenta, and Tvzvezda, expanded the list of items under trade ban to chemical precursors to riot control agents, chromium compounds, and more, and tightened port and aviation restrictions.

The EU also slapped additional sanctions against Belarus and adopted measures to hamper Russia’s attempts to integrate the occupied territories of Ukraine.

The news comes days after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that a settlement of the Russia-Ukraine war would include relief from the economic restrictions imposed on Moscow.

EU Economy and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis responded that Brussels must take greater control of its sanctions policy against Russia as US priorities shift.

The EU approved its 15th sanctions package against Moscow on Dec. 16. The package targeted 54 individuals and 30 organizations from Russia, China, and North Korea, as well as shipping companies facilitating Russia’s crude oil sales.

“If to achieve peace, you really need me to give up my post, I’m ready,” Zelensky said in remarks in Kyiv, speaking at a government forum marking three years since Russia launched its invasion of his country.

He suggested NATO membership would need to be on the table.

Asked whether he’d trade his office for peace, Zelensky told a journalist, “I can trade it for NATO.”

Zelensky’s remarks come days after President Donald Trump called the Ukrainian president a “dictator without elections” who was doing a “terrible job.” Ukrainian law prevents elections when under martial law, as the country currently is.

It also comes as the Trump administration has largely cut Ukraine and Europe out of initial talks with Russia to end the war. As Trump’s rhetoric about the war has increasingly echoed Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelensky accused him last week of living in a “web of disinformation.”

Zelensky continues to have majority support in Ukraine, according to the latest polling, contrary to Trump’s claim last week that he had a 4 percent approval rating — although he is not as popular as he was earlier in the war.

Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials have long pushed for inclusion in NATO as the strongest defense against future Russian invasions. However, the Joe Biden administration delayed any decision on that front, and the Trump administration has indicated its opposition to Ukraine joining the alliance.

Speaking ahead of a meeting of the US-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels nearly two weeks ago, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said NATO membership is not “realistic” and indicated Washington would no longer prioritize European and Ukrainian security.

“The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement,” Hegseth stated, adding US troops will not be involved in securing a postwar Kyiv.

Sybiha noted that this is the goal of President Volodymyr Zelensky and told partners that “it is time to fasten our diplomatic seat belts” and “not give in to emotions.”

“We are convinced that we really have a chance to end the war this year,” Sybiha added.

The minister’s comments come as the White House announced that a peace deal with Russia could be hashed out this week. President Donald Trump has amped up negotiation efforts in the last week, with plans to hold a second round of peace talks with Russia in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 25.

Preparations are underway for a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said. Trump previously stated he would “probably” meet Putin before the end of February.

The US held the first round of talks directly with Russia on Feb. 18, although notably did not include Ukraine in the meeting. The decision sparked backlash in Europe and Ukraine, with Europeans worried they are being sidelined by the US.

Sybiha stressed that cooperation with the US is important in order to achieve a just peace. Trump previously said that Zelensky is not important to the peace negotiations.

Tensions have arisen in recent days after Trump labeled Zelensky a dictator and claimed that Ukraine started the war against Russia. He later walked back on the comment and admitted that Russia attacked Ukraine, although said Ukraine “shouldn’t have let” Russia attack.