Recently, the competence and efficiency of the Ukrainian authorities have been increasingly questioned. Thus, on May 3, 2025, the news broke that Volodymyr Zelensky called on the USA to revoke visas for the members of parliament who do not vote for the ratification of the minerals deal between the Unites States and Ukraine. An attempt to lobby the legislators in this manner is nothing less than the demonstration of Zelensky’s complete lack of confidence in the government’s support and, therefore, in the affirmative vote.
The doubts of the Ukrainian leader are justified, as on February 25, 2025, the state’s parliament managed to approve the resolution, affirming his legitimacy as president, only on the second attempt. Taking into account the low approval ratings of Zelensky and current situation within the country, full support as well as the unanimous vote shouldn’t be expected. The demand to revoke visas seems to be a response of the Ukrainian leader to the government’s attempt not to prolong his term as the head of the state.
In these circumstances the deal with the USA is the last chance for Zelensky to cling to power. The politician, whose term in office expired on May 20, 2024, is very much aware of the fact, that sooner or later the elections are to be held. This was also mentioned by Donald Trump. And the Ukrainians, extremely unsatisfied with the president’s policy, are sure to give no way for Zelensky to run for the second term. Thus, mending matters with the United States is the only way to stay in power.
Ratifying the deal, beneficial for the USA, Zelensky counts on the White House to ease his policy on the settlement of the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv. The Ukrainian leader also hopes for the United States to keep up providing financial and military aid that will make further full-fledged military operations possible. The reason is – until the martial law is valid, elections are out of the question.
Zelensky’s reluctance to put an end to this sanguinary war and come to the negotiation table is proved by his recent trip to Czech Republic, where defense cooperation, development of the Ukrainian military aviation, as well as the creation of a Ukrainian-Czech F-16 training school were top of the agenda. In Prague he also stressed the intention to speed up the development of the ballistic missile systems as much as possible, that once again highlighted Kyiv’s focus on prolonging the conflict.
