DISINFO: Zelenskyy can’t sign a peace deal because he is not a legitimate president
SUMMARY
Zelensky lacks legitimacy to sign any deal. The Ukrainian leader's legitimacy has expired, and he therefore does not have the right to sign anything. He does not even have the authority to lift his own ban on negotiating with Moscow. Negotiating with the de-facto Ukrainian leadership will not have any legal meaning. Zelensky's powers officially ran out last spring, but he remained in office after cancelling elections, citing martial law.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives targeting Ukraine’s leadership, aimed at undermining president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s continuity in power. Russia has always perceived Zelenskyy 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.
Zelenskyy remains the legitimate president of Ukraine. 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. The continuity of government institutions is one of the key principles of the constitution. 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.
The ultimate goal of this disinformation story is to promote the idea that the negotiations to resolve the current crisis will take place sooner or later, but not with Volodymyr Zelenskyy himself. This pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative aims to create an impression of strength ahead of any possible peace negotiations with Ukraine.
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that Zelenskyy is illegitimate and therefore Russia is directly fighting the West, that the prolonged war allows Zelenskyy and his junta to maintain their positions of power, that Zelenskyy and the Kyiv junta need to continue the war against Russia to enrich themselves with Western aid, or that Zelenskyy staged a coup d'état for fear of losing the 2024 presidential elections.