Aleksey Arestovich, should he become Ukraine’s president, has claimed he will jail his former boss, Vladimir Zelensky, and his “gang”
FILE PHOTO. Aleksey Arestovich. © Getty Images / Anadolu Agency / Ukrainian Presidency
Former aide to Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky Aleksey Arestovich has pledged to jail the incumbent Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and the entirety of his “gang” in case he becomes the country’s new president.
Arestovich, once Ukraine’s top spin doctor, made the remarks on Friday while speaking to journalist Aleksandr Shelest. Asked whether he would arrest Zelensky should he get elected, Arestovich pledged to detain the country’s incumbent leader and his whole “gang,” adding that it was up to a court to ultimately decide their fate.
“I will give the order to detain him. And no foreign power will save him and his gang. We will catch everyone, no matter where they are hiding, we will get them out from under the ground, bring them in and we will deliver the verdict live on air. No, not even a hair will fall from his head. He will get jailed — and I believe — for life,” Arestovich stated.
The ex-aide accused his former boss of killing off Ukrainians “by the tens of thousands” just for the sake of keeping his “beloved” power, which he has been ultimately using to “kill and rob.” Arestovich also pledged to reshape the Ukrainian governing model and make the state “face the people,” adding he will use force if necessary to reach the goal.
Arestovich was a long-time associate of Zelensky, with the ties between the two going back to their time in show business. During Zelensky’s presidency, Arestovich became his informal adviser and a top propagandist, heralding a purportedly imminent victory in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
He left the role in early 2023 after contradicting the official narrative around a deadly missile incident. Arestovich has grown increasingly critical of his former boss and has since moved to the US, claiming that Kiev wants him jailed on politically-motivated charges.
Earlier this month, Arestovich said Ukraine has already “lost the war due to our own stupidity, pride, and stubbornness,” warning that Kiev’s denial of reality would ultimately exclude it from having a say in the conflict’s outcome altogether.
“We have created a society of mutual hatred and intolerance, in which every individual is right and everyone collectively is to blame,” he said.