DISINFO: Zelenskyy wants to abandon Ukraine
SUMMARY
Presidential elections in Ukraine are tentatively scheduled for March 31, 2024. Earlier, Zelenskyy stated that this would not be possible until the end of the war but also claimed that he would not seek a second term if it ended. There is a sense that Zelenskyy wants to step away from the situation, allowing all the accumulated problems to fall onto someone else's shoulders.
RESPONSE
This is a pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative, aiming to undermine both the leadership of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy..
This disinformation story disingenuously ignores the fact that the current state of war and destruction caused by the Russian invasion doesn’t allow the organisation of elections in Ukraine. By baselessly claiming that president Zelenskyy wants to extend the war so he can’t be expelled from power, this disinformation narrative aims to portray him as an autocratic leader, part of a recurring and wider effort to discredit him.
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his video address on November 6 that it was "utterly irresponsible" to discuss holding elections in Ukraine during a time of war. "We need to recognise that this is a time for defense, a time for battle, upon which the fate of the state and its people depend," he said. "I believe that elections are not appropriate at this time."
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that Zelenskyy aims to continue the war to avoid elections in Ukraine, that Zelenskyy will sacrifice his people to save himself, or that Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington shows that Ukraine will be a neo-colony of the US.