Zelensky Advisor Oleksiy Arestovych Mulls Running for President

The politician has come a long way since playing move and TV acting roles, and is now one of Kiev’s key spokespersons. Arestovych, who is infamous for rolling back his own declarations, claimed to be ready to ditch politics early in 2022, but has seemingly had a change of heart after the start of the Russian special military operation.

Advisor to the Ukrainian president, Oleksiy Arestovych, has expressed readiness to run for the highest office during the next election. In an interview with a Ukrainian media outlet, he said that he wants to try to run and "see how it goes".

Arestovych added, however, that he would only throw his hat into the ring if current President Volodymyr Zelensky decides not to vie for another term.

The next presidential election in Ukraine is scheduled for 2024, and with polls indicating that Arestovych enjoys high levels of support from Ukrainians - around 65% as per July 2022, second only to Zelensky himself -, he could stand a chance. But his controversial statements and muddy past might still play a bad joke on him.

Arestovych is known for walking back his own statements, which are often brazen and look unsubstantiated. One of the most notorious, and recurring, cases was his claim that Ukrainian forces would defeat the Russian special military operation in two to three weeks. Naturally, these promises repeatedly failed to materialize, prompting jokes about Arestovych's forecasting abilities.

The advisor to the presidential office seemed unconfused by these jokes, later rolling out a "safer" prediction that the Ukrainian forces will stop Russia in 2.5 years.

Arestovych has also made other controversial and sometimes contradicting statements in the past, namely claiming not to care much about Ukraine or its culture in 2017, as well as casting shade on President Zelensky and those who elected him. Arestovych likewise dubbed his voters "vulgar f**kers" and accused the president of being a puppet of Ukrainian oligarchs, but later walked back his criticism after being named advisor to Ukraine's delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group, which was created to try to end the domestic conflict in Donbass.

His past might also prompt many questions for the potential presidential contender. Arestovych has repeatedly claimed to have served in Ukraine's intelligence and military, but investigative journalists never managed to verify these statements. Furthermore, the presidential advisor cautioned journalists against trying to dig up the truth.

Люся Зайцева - арестович pic.twitter.com/D9AXzbYAZ6

— Ігор (@chernobaiev) December 3, 2020

He also has a highly diversified background before coming into big politics, being a jack of all trades (and arguably master of none). He worked as a small-time actor in various Russian and Ukrainian series, movies and TV ads, as well as as a TV host. Likewise, he was employed as a group psychology counselor, and worked in the art of communication, negotiation techniques, and public speaking, in addition to his unverified career track in the military and intelligence.

However, his overly calm statements – such as when nonchalantly talking about the prospect of the use of nuclear weapons in Ukrainian territory –, repeatedly incorrect forecasts, and other acts – such as dressing up and playing a female role in one of his series – might make some Ukrainian voters skeptical about picking him to be their next president.