Volodymyr Zelensky’s five-year term ends on May 20th

The mood in Kyiv is increasingly angsty, with Mr Zelensky’s opponents muttering that his monopoly on power is no longer tenable. Some are already playing the May 21st card, arguing that he loses political authority as soon as his scheduled five years are up. The Kremlin, unsurprisingly, agrees with them. “Zelensky’s fate is predetermined…many will question his legitimacy,” said a spokesman in April. Belarus’s Moscow-aligned president, Alexander Lukashenko, has even cast doubt on Mr Zelensky’s ability to be a legitimate signatory in any future peace deal, rich from a man who stole his way to re-election in 2020.