Russian President Vladimir Putin once again reiterated the false Russian narrative that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is illegitimate, firmly establishing that the deposition of Ukraine’s legitimate and democratic government is one of the Kremlin’s prerequisites for a solution. negotiated to war.
This has been stated by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in its latest report, as reported . ISW analysts noted that on December 16, Putin falsely claimed that the Ukrainian Constitution only provides for the expansion of the powers of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada (parliament) and does not expand the power of the president, even under martial law.
Ukraine’s Constitution and domestic martial law legislation stipulate that presidential, parliamentary and local elections cannot be held under martial law, and Ukraine has been under martial law since the start of Russia’s large-scale invasion in February. 2022. Zelensky was legally obliged to suspend the Ukrainian elections in 2024 under these provisions and he did so, according to the Ukrainian media.
The ISW has previously assessed that Kremlin officials are using serious misrepresentation of the Ukrainian Constitution and domestic legislation to promote this claim, “which is consistent with decade-long Russian efforts to rhetorically delegitimize Ukraine’s government and sovereignty.” “, highlights the media.
“It is very likely that Putin has resurrected this narrative – which has been largely dormant since early summer 2024 – to reiterate that the Kremlin views regime change in kyiv as a necessary precondition for ‘negotiating’ with Ukraine,” said the ISW.
Zelensky was democratically elected on May 20, 2019 and took the presidential oath at a session of the Verkhovna Rada. By law, presidential elections are usually held on the last Sunday in March of the fifth year of the president’s term. However, due to martial law enacted on February 24, 2022, elections remain suspended according to constitutional provisions.
