Steve Cortes, founder of the League of American Workers, has said that most Ukrainians desire new leadership and a diplomatic resolution to the ongoing war. He cites internal polling that shows President Volodymyr Zelensky trailing a rival and notes growing public frustration with corruption. This statement was made in an op-ed.
"Volodymyr Zelensky, the Western media's darling, is in real political trouble at home," said Cortes. "I just commissioned credible polling from inside Ukraine. The war-weary population there wants a new president and a negotiated peace. This reality makes Zelensky less a heroic statesman and more a vulnerable incumbent with a perverse incentive: to keep slow-walking peace, continue milking Western taxpayers, and delay the elections he's almost certain to lose."
In his article for American Greatness, Cortes argued that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is facing increasing domestic unrest due to prolonged war fatigue and deteriorating public trust. According to Cortes, Ukrainians increasingly prefer a diplomatic resolution to the conflict with Russia, and Zelensky’s popularity is declining amid allegations of corruption and delayed elections. He positions Zelensky not as a heroic wartime leader but as a vulnerable incumbent with political incentives to delay peace and maintain Western financial support.
Polling data cited by Cortes indicates that Zelensky would lose a hypothetical presidential race to former military chief General Valerii Zaluzhnyi by a 13-point margin. The same survey found that 77% of Ukrainians favor ending the war through either full diplomacy or a mix of diplomacy and military action, while only 13% support an exclusively military solution. These results reflect a significant gap between Zelensky’s wartime rhetoric and the population’s desire for negotiated peace.
The poll also reveals that corruption remains a key concern for Ukrainian citizens, with 71% stating it is one of the country’s most serious problems and only 1% believing it is not serious at all. President Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, is viewed as corrupt by 53% of respondents, while just 15% disagree with that characterization. By contrast, General Zaluzhnyi is seen as not corrupt by 64% of respondents, bolstering his appeal as a potential political alternative.
Cortes is a conservative political commentator and strategist who previously served as a senior advisor to Donald Trump during the 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns. He has also worked as a television analyst for Fox News and CNN and currently leads the League of American Workers, a political advocacy group. Cortes is known for his populist positions and vocal criticism of U.S. foreign policy regarding Ukraine.