\n<\/p>\n
On the first day of Russia\u2019s all-out invasion, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and his main political opponent at home shook hands, setting aside their ferocious rivalry to focus on the enemy. The country\u2019s typically raucous politics went largely dormant for the three years that followed.<\/p>\n
Now, as peace talks led by the Trump administration have stirred prospects for a cease-fire and eventual elections, the political jockeying has returned.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian politicians are maneuvering at home and reaching out behind the scenes to the Trump administration, which has made no secret of its disdain for Mr. Zelensky<\/a>, despite his lionization on the world stage for standing up to Russia.<\/p>\n Petro O. Poroshenko, a former Ukrainian president and the leader of a rival party, says that the best way to smooth the peace talks is to bring opposition figures into the government.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Poroshenko had earlier floated the idea of overhauling Ukraine\u2019s politics to form a national unity government, which could benefit his party. He revived the proposal after Mr. Zelensky\u2019s contentious Oval Office meeting with President Trump<\/a> in February and a call by a Republican senator for him to step down.<\/p>\n Mr. Zelensky has shown no interest in forming a coalition of ministers that would include opposition figures. Instead, his government has ratcheted up pressure on opponents by law enforcement and security agencies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, has said Mr. Zelensky abused martial law powers to overrule the city council. In January, Ukraine\u2019s national security council froze Mr. Poroshenko\u2019s bank accounts while leveling no specific accusations.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have any other option other than a coalition of national unity, a government of national unity,\u201d Mr. Poroshenko said in an interview on Wednesday. \u201cWe should have unity in the Parliament and demonstrate unity in the country. And the results of this decision should be a stop to the war.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Zelensky\u2019s five-year term, which was set to expire last year, was extended under martial law. Elections are legally banned under martial law and impractical as long as Ukraine remains at war.<\/p>\n Nearly a month ago, Ukraine offered a monthlong, unconditional cease-fire that Russia has not accepted. A Trump administration envoy, Steve Witkoff, traveled to Russia on Friday<\/a>, possibly in an effort to rekindle negotiations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Poroshenko said that the talks could get a boost if Mr. Zelensky allowed political opponents to enter the government, given that Mr. Trump has called Mr. Zelensky a \u201cdictator without elections.\u201d<\/a> That echoed criticism by the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, who has said he will not sign a peace settlement with Mr. Zelensky.<\/p>\n Mr. Poroshenko said he disagreed with Mr. Trump\u2019s assessment of Mr. Zelensky as a dictator.<\/p>\n But with the prospect of a cease-fire and elections, Mr. Poroshenko has taken to more openly criticizing the president. The sanctions that the national security council placed on Mr. Poroshenko froze his bank accounts and could exclude him from future elections.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Poroshenko called the sanctions against him \u201cdisastrous, unconstitutional and extrajudicial.\u201d If he were arrested, he said, he would then say that Ukraine is on a path to dictatorship.<\/p>\n