Ukraine’s pro-Russian parties launched an impeachment process against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on February 3, the day after the president closed down TV stations associated with the party.

The Opposition Platform – For Life parliamentary faction in Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada says it will launch the impeachment process, Vadym Rabinovych, the co-chairman of the party, said.

"Three leading television channels have been cut off from the air for the first time in the entire history of independent Ukraine," Rabinovych said at a session of the Verkhovna Rada as cited by Interfax Ukraine.

"We will convene an extraordinary congress of the party soon to determine our future steps… We'll initiate a procedure to impeach President Zelenskiy, who has humiliated voters and the country," Rabinovych said.

Zelenskiy signed the decree that imposes special economic sanctions on the Novyny news media holding that belongs to Viktor Medvedchuk, the head of the Political Council of the Opposition Platform – For Life Party, on February 2.

Medvedchuk is the former éminence grise behind ousted president Viktor Yanukovych as well as a personal friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is godfather to his daughter.

Seen by many as a proxy of the Kremlin in the upper echelons of Ukrainian domestic politics, Medvedchuk has tied up with oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky and jointly owns some of Kolomoisky’s media assets.

The sanctions and now the impeachment attempt, which analysts say will fail as Opposition Platform – For Life fraction has far too few votes, represent a scaling up of tensions in Ukraine’s domestic politics and a fresh political crisis for the Zelenskiy administration.

“Ukrainian politics just stepped up a gear,” Tim Ash, senior sovereign strategist at BlueBay Asset Management said in a note to clients. "It seems Zelenskiy has been spurred into action by a combination of things.” Ash makes three points: “First, opinion polls domestically have shown his own popularity lagging, and that of his Servant of the People faction now trailing in fourth place with the pro-Russian Opposition Block now the most popular party, albeit with only 20% or so support,” says Ash.

“Second, I think the recent battle with Dubinsky and Kolomoisky has revealed the true opposition therein to his rule and the fact that he only commands 198 of Rada deputies in Servant of the People, far short of a majority. This shows he is really going to struggle to govern unless he reaches out to other groups – and therein it seems likely he will need to ally with Poroshenko, Tymoshenko et al to counter the resurgence of the pro-Russian opposition with the likes of Kolomoisky and Dubinsky. This means really deciding where he sits in the West vs East battle. It is no longer an option to sit on the fence,” Ash adds.

“Third, I think in calls with the new Biden administration, and watching events with Navalny in Moscow, Zelenskiy has realised that Ukraine is an asset to the Biden administration as a foil to the resurgence of Russia. He seems to have received assurance from the Biden team that supporting Ukraine is central to their plans to counter Russia and this has given him confidence to stand up to Russian and oligarchic interests at home. I think the WH [White House] will also have told him in no uncertain terms that he needs to stand up to kleptocracy and that the US will be side by side with him in that. This explains the moves now against Kolomoisky, Dubinsky and Medvedchuk and their allies and interests,” concludes Ash.

“The gloves are now off. Let’s see how Putin reacts – watch Donbas,” Ash says.