Speaking at a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin's claims about the legitimacy of the Ukrainian leader.
The response came days after Putin falsely claimed that President Zelensky's term had supposedly ended and that presidential powers should be handed over to the speaker of Ukraine's parliament.
“President Zelenskyy's legitimacy is recognized only by the Ukrainian people,” Zelensky said. “It was the Ukrainian people who elected him and I am very grateful for their support. We are a people, we are free. This is why we are fighting.”
Without martial law, the next presidential elections would have been held on March 31, 2024, and President Zelenskyy's term would have ended on May 20. However, Ukraine introduced martial law after Russia launched a full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. The martial law law explicitly prohibits presidential, parliamentary and local elections.
Zelenskiy said his party was recognised only by Putin, the Russian president who recently won another six-year term in office in elections widely believed to have been rigged.
“Putin was chosen by Putin. The Russian people are the stage and there is only one actor,” the Ukrainian president added.
Ukrainian parliament speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk also rejected Putin's claims about Zelenskyy's legitimacy in late May, saying that according to the Ukrainian constitution the president exercises his powers until a newly elected president takes office.
“Therefore, Volodymyr Zelenskyy will remain the president of Ukraine until martial law is lifted. All this is in accordance with the Constitution and laws of Ukraine,” he said.
Some of Zelensky's critics, including Russian propagandists, say the constitution does not allow him to extend his term under martial law.
They claim they lost their legitimate presidential powers on May 20, but leading constitutional scholars dispute that claim, saying the Constitution allows for such an extension.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and European Commission spokesman Peter Stern said on May 21 that they supported Zelensky's legitimacy.
Zelensky's term was supposed to end this month, but he's staying on. Russia wants to take advantage of that.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's term is set to end on May 20, 2024, but it won't. With the Russian war pushing back elections and Zelenskyy's term in office looking likely to be indefinite, the Ukrainian presidential administration is preparing to weather a storm of criticism questioning the president's legitimacy. The administration…
