DISINFO: Ukraine’s insane leadership is an obstacle on the path to peace
SUMMARY
The US administration seemingly started to realise that the Ukrainian leadership is not mentally sane. The team of psychopaths in Kyiv threatens the prospects of the Nobel prize award and third presidential term for Donald Trump. Trump is starting to understand that he only has reasonable and unproblematic communication with Russia and that the best way to put an end to conflict is to not hamper the Russians doing their work in Ukraine.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming that Ukraine is not interested in peace and denigrating Ukrainian authorities. The claim is part of an ongoing pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign in Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia has repeatedly portrayed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as an obstacle to its goals in Ukraine, even since before the invasion.
Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state with a democratically elected president and parliament. Its independence and territorial integrity is internationally recognised by the whole world, including Russia in 1991.
Zelenskyy remains the legitimate president and leader of Ukraine, as he won the 2019 election by a landslide with over 73% of the vote. While this popularity may have changed over the years, his approval rate remained very high at the time this disinformation story appeared. A survey conducted by Ipsos/The Economist in mid-March 2025 showed that 72% of Ukrainians approved his job as president, while 80% considered that he had democratic legitimacy as president. Although Zelenskyy’s continuation in power after his initial mandate expired in May 2024 generated some domestic controversy, 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. Even Zelenskyy’s fiercest political opponents have rejected the idea of celebrating another election during wartime.
Another goal of this disinformation story is to undermine Zelenskyy’s continuity in power, as Russia has always perceived him as an obstacle to its aggressive goals in Ukraine, even since before the invasion. One of the targets of the invasion in February 2022 was the murder of Zelenskyy and the decapitation of the Ukrainian government to install a pro-Russian leadership.
The Ukrainian authorities are eager to achieve peace with the help of its European and American partners alike. The European Union summit, held in Brussels on 6 March 2025 with the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, showed Europe’s unity is supporting Ukraine and searching for a path towards a just peace. The EU leaders highlighted that for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine the following principles should be respected:
-there can be no negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine
-there can be no negotiations that affect European security without Europe’s involvement
-any truce or ceasefire can only take place as part of a process leading to a comprehensive peace agreement
-any peace agreement needs to be accompanied by robust and credible security guarantees for Ukraine that contribute to deterring future Russian aggression
-peace must respect Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Read our past analysis “The Kremlin’s strange idea of peace” and earlier disinformation cases claiming that the Kyiv regime does not want peace, that Zelenskyy is the most dangerous threat to the world and irresponsible instigator of war, that EU support for Ukraine is obstacle to peace, and that Ukraine rejects peace and pins responsibility on Europe instead.