Zelensky and Yermak find themselves tied to one another and somewhat interdependent: the former on the staffing policy of his head of administration, the latter on the political survival of his patron.

Ukraine’s decision not to hold presidential elections amid the Russian invasion and martial law has raised sensitive questions about Zelensky’s position.

There are no grounds for the doom-filled prophecies that without Zaluzhny, Ukraine faces disaster. But the circumstances of the general’s departure do leave the impression of a president who is overreaching his hand by more or less openly putting narrow and selfish interests before considerations of state.

The harsh reality of war means that Russia’s Ukrainians are condemned to either assimilate fast or move back to their historical homeland, where they will inevitably fall under suspicion.

The dispute is not over who has done more for victory, but over who is most to blame for the fact that the turning point in Ukraine’s favor never came.

Election talk is back in Ukraine, and with it speculation as to how the country’s Russian-speakers might vote next time around.

The aspiration of former Ukrainian politicians working in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine to be treated as equals by the Kremlin has not been realized, and the unpredictability of the ongoing war makes them increasingly vulnerable.

In occupied Ukraine, upcoming elections highlight the Kremlin’s limited room for maneuver following its declared annexation of parts of Ukraine last year: a costly decision forcing it to pretend that everything is going according to plan.

The Ukrainian government can always justify waging a war against regional grandees as part of the fight against corruption and the desire to prevent Western aid from ending up in the pockets of local clans.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church will never be able to return to its prewar position. There are only two options now: swear allegiance to the new national consensus, or become a pro-Kremlin collaborator.