We have been covering the repercussions of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to cancel elections and prolong his rule through martial law for some time now.
In November, Zelensky called off the scheduled March or April elections, citing the irresponsibility of holding them during the ongoing war.
Following the expiration of his constitutional mandate on May 21, as anticipated, the Russian side promptly ceased recognizing him as head of state.
Sputnik reported:
“President Zelensky’s legitimacy has expired, and Russia will proceed from this fact, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.
‘Of course, we are aware that the legitimacy of the current head of state [of Ukraine] has ended’, Putin said at a press conference in Minsk on Friday after talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Putin recommended anyone looking for answers regarding Zelensky’s legal status to look to the Ukrainian Constitution – which does not authorize the artificial extension of his presidential term under the pretext of martial law.”
Belarusian Lukashenko echoed Putin’s assessment, hinting that the real deciders are in Washington, not Kiev.
Meanwhile, “A defiant Zelensky has rejected questions on his legitimacy from his critics in Ukraine, and from Kiev’s Western ‘partners’. ‘My five-year term is not over yet. It is continuing due to martial law’, Zelensky told Reuters on Tuesday.”
Kiev will regard anyone who questions Zelensky’s legitimacy as ‘enemies of Ukraine’.
Putin stressed that Russia is prepared to restart peace talks with Ukraine, but only with a President who is recognized as legitimate considering the current situation on the ground.
“If and when such negotiations resume, ‘we must be completely confident that we are dealing with legitimate authorities. This question must be answered in Ukraine itself. First of all, I believe, from the position of the parliament, the Constitutional Court, some other government bodies’, Putin said.”
