Ukraine has a plan in case the president dies in war, although Ukrainian officials refuse to talk about it publicly. About this write American publication Politico.
There have already been at least 10 serious assassination attempts on the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, by Russian subversive and intelligence groups, including Chechens and mercenaries of the "Wagner" PMC. Ukraine has a succession plan in case of the death of the president.
The authors of the publication note that the issue of the possible assassination of the president by Russian troops cannot be ignored either in Ukraine or in the West. Volodymyr Zelenskyi is not just a formal head of state: he personally plays a key role in attracting international support for the fight against Russia.
It is noted that the risks to Volodymyr Zelenskyi's life are now lower than in the first weeks of a full-scale war, but no one in the Ukrainian government or parliament doubts that the danger remains high.
The publication notes that despite the reluctance of Ukrainian officials to talk about it, an action plan in the event of Zelenskyi's death does exist. Even last year, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken actually confirmed this, when he said in an interview that "the Ukrainians have plans" for "continuity of the government".
Formally, according to the constitution, the line of succession of power is clear: when the president cannot fulfill his duties, the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine takes over his duties. Politico notes that the current head of the Verkhovna Rada — Ruslan Stefanchuk — does not have a particularly high trust rating among the public, but that is unlikely to be a problem.
"There is a strong leadership team, and I think we will see a collective government," Adrian Karatnytskyi, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center, explains the hypothetical situation.
The publication assumes that in Zelensky's absence, Stefanchuk, the head of the President's Office, Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov will collectively manage the state. Valery Zaluzhnyi will remain in the position of army commander-in-chief.
"The country has reached a point of very significant solidarity and national unity, so if something terrible happened to Zelensky, it would not be as decisive as you think," Karatnytskyi said.
He also emphasized that Ukraine has created a proven administrative, military and diplomatic machine.
To always be aware of the most important things, read us at Telegram
