London's The Times is full of pessimism. Roger Boyes wrote on Tuesday:"Like others in the West I have been enthralled by the resilience of Ukrainians in their long, often ingenious fight against the Russian invasion. Yet as winter approaches it looks increasingly likely to be Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s last stand. The money to keep Ukraine armed, healthy and warm is drying up. The western will to support the war is evaporating. The defence of an independent Kyiv has slipped down the hierarchy of strategic emergencies.""In what might turn out to be the last 150 days of war the real emerging costs, however, will not be measured in billions of euros lost but in the cityscapes of both Russia and Ukraine, full of men with wooden legs and empty sleeves, jobless, listening to speeches by revanchists, hooked perhaps on tranquillisers, hating their leaders. I wish it were not the case but it’s what the numbers tell us. There are no winter miracles in eastern Europe. Prepare for the peace; it won’t be pretty."I do not want to share the author's pessimism. But the further we go, the more it seems that the government is considering such a scenario. They are preparing for elections. And, strangely enough, the arrest of Kudrytskyi (former head of Ukraine's state-owned grid operator Ukrenergo - ed.) is a direct illustration of these processes. Why? It was obvious to me that Kudrytskyi would be released on bail because there was no crime in his actions, and even if there were—under such articles, the result would be the same. Therefore, the government's task is not to "imprison" Kudrytskyi, but to compromise him. According to the government's logic, there should be no "white" ones. All are "black" and the same.Ultimately, nothing new. The poet Yuriy Rybchynskyi wrote a popular rock opera The White Crow in Soviet times. It had these words:"And they called the beauty a monster,Raged with evil slanderAnd to the court, so different and unconquered,The black brothers brought their sister,So she would not be called proud and free,So there would be no others in the family,They soiled with black mudHer bright wings and bright forehead…"."Kudrytskyi needs to be compromised to undermine the trust of Western partners, with whom he has collaborated extensively. As if to say: "What corruption in the energy sector? Who do you believe—a corrupt official?""They act the same way in politics. An army of mercenaries—the so-called petrovyivanovy and their invention, the "titushky"—and funded anonymous Telegram channels work with the funds allegedly stolen from the energy sector to discredit anyone who, in their opinion, could compete with the authorities.That is, the scenario the government is preparing for is obvious—a shameful peace and dishonest elections with a game without rules.Obviously, this is not the only scenario. The heroic resistance of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the advocacy of professional diplomats and civil society representatives, and the genuine support of European leaders give us a great chance to stand firm. But the government is also preparing for the worst. That is why they are creating headquarters of "black political technologists" who, in concert with "law enforcement agencies" and the Pechersk court, are supposed to clear the field of competitors.The liquidation of at least some independence of NABU and SAPO failed. And the government created a counterbalance. To replace the closed and poorly managed system of NABU, SAPO, and anti-corruption courts, they created their own—the DBR, part of the SBU (because a part of it truly protects statehood), and the Pechersk court. "A conflict between these two systems was inevitable."At a certain stage, the West wanted, without entering into conflict with the Ukrainian elites, to create some kind of anti-corruption "orderlies," and the government, in response, created an anti-anti-corruption system. And so, when we are fighting the democratic West inside the country, preserving our own controlled courts and law enforcement—will we receive full support for European integration and on the front lines? Obviously not. And this is killing us.Russia, in turn, is actively working to weaken the EU, supporting far-right forces to stop support for Ukraine. Are we playing a counter-game? No. Nobody. The government is preparing for elections.Thus, due to the government's desire to preserve the corrupt system and win the elections, we are now losing Europe's support and the chance to win the war or at least achieve a dignified peace and guarantees of security and development in the EU.A similar situation with the same players—"technologists," the "titushky" they invented, whom they are again "selling" to Zelenskyy's team—existed before the Maidan in 2013. The same deceitful attacks on the opposition, compromising journalists and activists (like Portnikov), the arrest of Tymoshenko (this is not about Tymoshenko as a politician, but about Yanukovych's methods) led to the suspension of European integration, the Maidan, and the occupation of territories.Zelenskyy today is completely repeating Yanukovych's actions of 2013—but in a much worse situation, with the risk of losing statehood. Yanukovych also initially had a desire to join the EU, and he and his entourage did not realize that signing an association agreement with Tymoshenko in prison and Putin at the border would be difficult.Russia now wants revenge for the Maidan—on the front, in international politics, and in domestic political life. And the murder of Andriy Parubiy was not accidental. Whomever you cannot compromise—you kill. Zelenskyy, it seems, does not realize this: he acts like Yanukovych, but he does not have the opportunities to survive as Yanukovych did. And there is a full-scale war in the country. He must radically change his methods and political technologists to save both himself and the country.SourceAbout the author. Mykola Kniazhytskyi, journalist, Ukrainian MP.The editors do not always share the views expressed by the authors of blogs or columns.