DISINFO: The US has already decided to replace illegitimate president Zelenskyy with former Minister of Interior Avakov
SUMMARY
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is no longer the “legitimate” president of Ukraine, since his powers expired on the 20 May 2024 and he himself had annulled the elections that were supposed to elect the new president. The US has already identified the candidate in Arsen Avakov, a “Ukrainian” of half-Armenian and half-Ossetian origins. The choice of Avakov by the Yankees is not particularly surprising, having been the former Minister of the Interior responsible for the reform of the Ukrainian judicial system, implemented under US dictation.
RESPONSE
No evidence given.
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives claiming that Ukraine is under US control, and that Zelenskyy is an illegitimate president.
Ukraine’s constitution is straightforward: no elections can be held during wartime and the President of Ukraine exercises his powers until the assumption of office by the newly-elected President. The continuity of government institutions is one of the key principles of the Constitution.
While the date 20 May 2024, five years after president Zelenskyy taking office, generated some domestic controversy in Ukraine, almost all observers consider regular elections unfeasible as there are millions of refugees abroad, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians serving on the frontlines and a significant part of Ukrainian population lives under Russian occupation. There are also multiple funding and infrastructure problems that can hardly be addressed while the war is ongoing.
If Russia had not launched its unprovoked and unjustified full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, parliamentary elections should have been held on 29 October 2023, and presidential elections on 31 March 2024. Numerous practical hurdles would hinder the feasibility of holding free and fair elections while Ukraine is at war with Russia. It would be impossible to ensure the safety and security of polling stations and to facilitate access for international observers. In addition, millions of voters abroad, internally displaced persons, and soldiers on the front line would be unlikely to vote. Such elections would be far from democratic.
Ukraine's challenges are due to Russia's aggression against it, which entails the destruction of Ukrainian cities and relentless attacks against its civilian infrastructure. Russia is responsible for the destruction of many cities across Ukraine, such as Mariupol. Russia continues bombing civilian infrastructures and targets in Ukraine, including in Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Lviv, Chernihiv and other cities as well as the provinces of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. At some point, Russia also expanded its campaign targeting Ukrainian civilian port infrastructure and agriculture exports. Russia wages a deliberate campaign to destroy the energy infrastructure of Ukraine targeting its power plants, transmission grids, hydro-dams and occupying nuclear power plants. Pro-Kremlin outlets have even justified the destruction of Ukrainian industry under the pretext of so-called denazification.
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