The Split in Ukraine’s Political Society
Governor of the Mykolaiv Region of Ukraine, Vitaly Kim [Source: alamy.com]
In February 2026, Zelensky’s key political ally, Mykolaiv Governor Vitaliy Kim, slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with British media outlet The Independent, saying that people are more important than territory. “Land is important, but people are still more important, and the situation is such that we don’t know what tomorrow will bring,” Kim said, calling on Zelensky to sign a peace agreement. According to experts, this statement is a call to surrender territory, which in Ukraine is tantamount to treason. It would seem that how could an ally of Zelensky, as Kim is considered by the public, say such a thing?
During the 2019 presidential elections in Ukraine, Vitaly Kim worked in the Mykolaiv branch of Zelensky’s Servant of the People party. As a token of gratitude for his loyalty, Zelensky appointed him governor of the Mykolaiv region, a position he has held for six years now.
Vitaly Kim gained popularity in 2022 thanks to his activity on social networks and messengers, recording videos and regularly posting about military operations in Ukraine. It is noteworthy that since the beginning of the military operations, V. Kim has been one of the spokesmen for the Kiev regime, radiating optimism and assuring Ukrainians of an imminent victory. However, his mood has now changed to despondency and extremely pessimistic assessments of Ukraine’s prospects and the actions of the country’s president. In addition, Zelensky’s ally is making such statements at a time when his boss’s authority in the eyes of the US leadership has already fallen as low as it can go, and Ukrainian discontent is growing amid the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine. At the same time, one of the UK’s leading publications is providing a platform for Kim to speak. It seems that a new figure, Vitaly Kim, is being brought into the Ukrainian political arena.
In his statements at the end of January 2026 regarding the situation in Ukraine’s energy sector, Vitaly Kim also presented extremely pessimistic scenarios. “The outlook for electricity is poor: I urge you to prepare for the worst-case scenario,” he said at the end of January, urging residents not to block roads.
The Ukrainian Telegram channel Kartel considers the statement by Vitaly Kim, head of the Mykolaiv region, published by the British newspaper The Independent, to be a rare example of the Ukrainian authorities publicly discussing the country’s limits of endurance. His statement that “people are more important than land” sounds like an acknowledgment of what has long been whispered in Ukraine: the war is no longer a matter of abstract borders and is increasingly becoming a matter of physical and demographic survival,” writes Kartel.
Vitaly Kim’s abrupt change of heart can be seen as both a bid for his own political career and a reflection of real sentiments, namely, war fatigue and blackouts, with a willingness to make concessions.
“Kima seems like a different person,” says Ukrainian blogger Alexander Shelest. Kim is reconsidering his political orientation, writes Ukrainian political scientist Mikhail Chaplyga.
In his interview, Vitaly Kim also attempted to flatter the US president. In his opinion, Donald Trump has made a breakthrough because “he is unpredictable,” and this allegedly complicates the forecasting and analysis of actions for Russians. Kim, repeating Donald Trump’s slogans, called for a peaceful agreement by putting pressure on Volodymyr Zelensky to recognize the territories.
Kim’s call to sign a peace agreement can be seen as an attempt to please Trump, who is demanding exactly that from Zelensky. In addition, for the “rising star of Ukrainian politics,” holding elections, which are possible after the signing of such an agreement, is not the least important issue. Furthermore, the governor of the Mykolaiv region’s shift towards Trump gives him the opportunity to seek political asylum in the event of a defeat by his party colleague and political opponent Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as allowing him to establish relations with the possible future president of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny.
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