Vitali Klitschko claims ‘Zelensky is on his way out’: Former boxing champ says Ukraine’s leader is ‘paying for his mistakes’ as counter-offensive grinds to a halt

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is failing as a war leader and will soon leave his job, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko has suggested.

Klitschko, a former top boxer and brother of heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, admitted in an interview with Swiss outlet '20 minutes' that Ukraine's counter-offensive had come to a standstill and Zelensky must now 'pay for his mistakes'.

He said he was not surprised that Zelensky's popularity has fallen compared to the military's, judging that “people see who is effective and who is not.” And there were a lot of expectations… People wonder why we weren't better prepared for this war.”

“The president has an important position today and we must support him until the end of the war. But at the end of this war, every politician will pay for his successes or failures,” he said, dismissing suggestions that he would consider running for the role.

'It would be stupid to think about that today. Today the only question is whether Ukraine will survive at all,” he told the newspaper.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (CL) and Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi (CR) visit the command post of the Ukrainian Army in Kupiansk, Kharkiv region, shared on November 30

Rescue work at a site of a residential building heavily damaged by a Russian missile attack in the city of Novohrodivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, November 30

Ukrainian soldiers shoot targets as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues toward Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on December 1, 2023

Vitaly Klitchko attends the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight world title fight between Russia's Oleg Maskaev and Uganda's Peter Okhello in Moscow on December 10, 2006

Zelensky's popularity among Ukrainians remains significantly higher than in 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. More than 50 percent still strongly approve of their president's actions poll by Statista.

The Ukrainians are also clearer about their position; When Zelensky became president in 2019, almost half said it was difficult to answer or had no answer. Today, two percent give the same answer.

But support has become slightly more divided over the past 18 months, with strong approval falling from 74 percent in early 2022 to 59 percent in June and around 58 percent in February this year.

Most of them now 'somewhat approve' of Zelensky's actions – with only three percent strongly opposing his policies.

Zelensky has openly admitted that the major counter-offensive planned this spring had failed to achieve its objectives.

On Friday, December 1, he said the plan had not delivered “the desired results.”

Speaking in Kiev, Mr Zelensky admitted that Ukraine “wanted faster results”. Asked if he felt pressure to enter into peace talks, he said: “I don't feel it yet.”

But he added: “Some voices are always heard.” Zelensky previously warned that the conflict in Gaza could distract from Ukraine's urgent need for international support.

Zelensky has expressed regret over the inability of Western partners to pledge material support to Ukraine, insisting that a victory for Putin would set a dangerous precedent.

Indeed, Britain has failed to extend its promised £2.3 billion aid package to Ukraine, which expires in March 2024.

Putin, meanwhile, has militarized the Russian economy and engineered a sevenfold increase in tank production.

Military watchers warn the West against complacency.

Philip Ingram MBE, a retired British Army colonel and military intelligence specialist, told MailOnline: 'If aid slips away before Ukraine has managed to defeat the Russians, that's billions of dollars in aid that has been given to Ukraine so far given and wasted.

“Any Western government, including the US government, that decides to waste all that money and not give any more of it is committing political suicide. The issue at hand is what will happen if you get a maverick as head of government in a certain country, and we have the potential for Donald Trump to come back. That is a worrying matter.

“Donald Trump is almost certainly in a position where he is unduly influenced by Vladimir Putin and by Russia. And from an intelligence perspective, I would say that there is a strong possibility that Vladimir Putin has made some degree of compromise. That means that Trump's position is in jeopardy.'

In the meantime, he says, “Zelensky is nowhere near peace negotiations with Putin, and is still chipping away at Russia's hold in the east and south.”

'From a tactical perspective, the ground becomes very muddy indeed. That makes it virtually impossible for armored maneuvers to continue… And it will remain that way until late spring, early summer of next year, barring possibly when the ground freezes.

'[This] will probably favor the Ukrainians, because the Ukrainians, with their western equipment, are much more suited to operating within the very cold temperatures and dealing with the Russians. But for the Russians in a defensive position it is much easier to defend than to attack and these kinds of circumstances.

A Ukrainian soldier in trenches recaptured from the Russian army on the Vuhledar front line as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on December 1

A local resident walks in front of damaged residential buildings, amid the Russian attack outside Ukraine, in the city of Avdiivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, October 17, 2023

An injured woman is seen as an airstrike damages an apartment building outside Kharkov

“However, morale among Russian troops is low and is likely to become lower due to lack of equipment, lack of cold weather gear, lack of food and lack of real leadership. And Ukrainian morale is holding strong, despite the real pressures that Ukrainians are under.

“It's a real war of attrition on the front lines right now and it will remain that way until we see the next kind of offensive kick in in late spring and early summer. This is where the battle at the operational level is critical.”