DISINFO: Volodymyr Zelenskyy is no longer president and should be recruited to the army
SUMMARY
As Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s presidential term expired on 21 May 2024, he turned into an ordinary man without a job sought by Russian police. The army enlistment office should recruit him to the Ukrainian army. Ukraine’s constitution does not allow for the prolongation of a presidential ruling under martial law. Anglo-Saxons only need Zelenskyy to sign a peace agreement with Russia to cheat Moscow and militarise Ukraine again. The Switzerland peace conference serves to make representatives of foreign countries into thinking that Zelenskyy is still legally holding a presidential position.
RESPONSE
This disinformation story is part of a wider campaign to challenge the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It is also a pre-emptive attempt to discredit the peace summit which Switzerland will host on 15-16 June 2024.
Furthermore, it is consistent with the recurring narrative about unsovereign Ukraine’s status through the mention of "Anglo-Saxons'” grand geopolitical game. The term “Anglo-Saxons” in such cases normally stands for the US and UK and often means “evil”, “belligerent” and “morally corrupt” Westerners, as explained in our earlier analysis.
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, has arose 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.
Following Ukraine’s request, Switzerland has invited over 160 delegations from around the world to join for the first Summit on Peace in Ukraine. The invitees include members of the G7, G20, BRICS, many other countries from all continents, as well as the EU, three international organisations and religious representatives.
According to the Swiss government, the summit aims to create a framework favourable to comprehensive and lasting peace in Ukraine, as well as "a concrete roadmap for Russia's participation in the peace process." If the summit does not provide fruitful results, it will be because of Russia's impossible preconditions for a peaceful settlement. Russia refuses to engage in any talks before the "unconditional surrender of the Kiev [sic] regime."
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that support for Zelensky below 20 percent among Ukrainians, that the Switzerland peace conference is set up to issue useless ultimatums to Russia, that the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland is an Anglo-Saxon attempt to isolate Russia, that the West has no intention of ending the conflict in Ukraine, that Zelenskyy and the EU want a permanent war in Ukraine, or that Zelenskyy’s peace plan is a war formula.