«If you wear a uniform and have fought in the war, it does not mean you have the skills to govern,» Kim said on the prospects of military personnel in power
- News of Mykolaiv
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- Alona Kokhanchuk
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18:34, 17 January, 2026
Vitalii Kim at the final conference for 2025. Photo: NikVestiThe head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, Vitalii Kim, commented on the prospects for military participation in elections and the country's political life. He stressed that military experience does not always mean readiness for senior government positions.
He spoke about this on the Newsmaker programme.
According to Vitalii Kim, about a third of citizens may vote for the military in the elections, because society is connected with the war, and many important decisions have been implemented with the participation of Ukraine's defenders.
He stressed that there are specialists among the military who are capable of holding top leadership positions. However, he adds that not everyone with combat experience automatically has the necessary management skills.
«There are specialists in the military who can be top government leaders. But that's not everyone. If you have a uniform and you have fought in a war, it does not mean that you have the skills and knowledge to manage something. Courage is only part of what is needed to succeed. That is why I spoke out to reduce this populism: 'I fought in a war, so I have more rights',» explained Vitalii Kim.
According to Vitalii Kim's forecast, in the possible distribution of citizen support between civilian and military candidates, the civilian component will prevail: approximately 70% for civilians and 30% for the military.
«I think it will be somewhere around 70 to 30 — 70% civilian, 30% military,» he concluded.
Earlier, the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, Vitalii Kim, stated that he was not considering participating in the presidential election and named the completion of judicial reform and the reconstruction of the south among his political priorities.
It was also reported that work on the text of the draft law on elections under martial law is planned to be completed by the end of February. At the same time, a referendum on the approval of a peace agreement may be held simultaneously with the presidential elections.
He also noted that the working group is discussing the possibility of hybrid or online voting, in particular for internally displaced persons, but no final decisions have been made on this issue yet.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also stated that Ukraine plans to submit a 20-point peace agreement to the Verkhovna Rada for approval or to hold a nationwide referendum.
This material was created within the framework of the project «Supporting the Sustainability of Ukrainian Media», which is implemented by the international organization Internews with financial support from Sweden. The content of the material is the sole responsibility of the NGO «Mykolaiv Media Hub» and does not necessarily reflect the official position of Sweden or Internews.
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