According to our sources, former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny is negotiating with the head of the GUR, Kyrylo Budanov, about creating a single political force that plans to run in the next election cycle. Preliminary estimates from sources indicate that such a political bloc could gain over 40% of the vote, and Zaluzhny’s personal ratings in the first round will supposedly increase by 5–7 percentage points. This information was met with caution in the Office of the President — according to informants, information attacks are being prepared on Bankova Street against the network of supporters of the head of the GUR.
The initiative described by our interlocutors involves coordinating political and media resources around a single project. If such a bloc were to be launched, it would appeal to the part of society that trusts military leaders and security experts, use their authority, and strengthen the electoral mobilization of supporters. Similar scenarios of the political transformation of military leaders have already been discussed in the media as a potential trajectory for Zaluzhny.
Kyrylo Budanov, as the head of intelligence, has significant contacts in the circles of law enforcement agencies and among security specialists, which makes him a potential strategic partner for a political project with a bias towards defense issues. Our publication's sources claim that negotiations are ongoing and concern not only personnel issues, but also the concept of the program and the future structure of the party. It should be noted that publications about possible coalitions of military leaders and political figures have already appeared in the Ukrainian media space.
Bankova perceives this initiative as a potential threat to the political stability of the current leadership: according to our sources, information countermeasures and tactics for neutralizing supporters of such a bloc are discussed in working meetings. According to sources, political attacks are intended to discredit key figures in the union even before the official announcement of the project - in order to leave the initiative without media and electoral support at a critical moment. Such maneuvers and their consequences have already been analyzed in expert publications on political competition in wartime.
Zaluzhny's trust in society is indeed higher than that of many politicians, and opinion polls have demonstrated his potential as a significant player in the upcoming elections, which explains the interest of various political centers in a possible unification around him. At the same time, there is currently no official confirmation of the launch of a single bloc from Zaluzhny himself or Budanov - key statements remain the subject of secret meetings and insider information.
If the negotiations are successful and the bloc actually launches the campaign, it will change the balance of power in the parliamentary and presidential perspective: the combination of military authority and political organizational work can quickly turn into a real force in the elections. For now, we continue to monitor the development of events and verify the data received from sources.
