Fears are growing that Ukraine will be forced to hold an early election as part of the US-brokered peace deal, paving the way for a ‘pro-Russia puppet’ leader.
A return to the polls this year is expected to be a key condition of the peace agreement being negotiated in Saudi Arabia between Donald Trump’s top foreign policy advisers and Russia.
Yesterday, the US President suggested he would be in favour of a new election. ‘I hate to say it but [Volodymyr] Zelensky is down four per cent on approval ratings,’ he said.
‘Wouldn’t the people of Ukraine have to say it’s been a long time since we had an election.’
But Ukraine’s president has insisted that his citizens ‘absolutely do not want’ elections before the war ends. He was elected for a five-year term in 2019 but last year’s poll did not go ahead.
US and European politicians said holding an election now would allow Russia to impose a candidate who will agree to Vladimir Putin’s terms of surrender.
Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick said: ‘Putin is now asking for a new election in Ukraine… so that he can install his puppet and accomplish that which he couldn’t militarily. Nice try, Vladimir. The United States and Europe will not cave to your ridiculous demands.’
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his people ‘absolutely do not want’ elections until the war ends
US President Donald Trump suggested that he would be in favour of a new election in Ukraine, remarking it had been ‘a long time’ since the country’s citizens had gone to the polls
US and European politicians warned that holding elections now could open the door for Russia to impose a candidate who will agree to Vladimir Putin’s terms of surrender
German MEP Sergey Lagodinsky said: ‘Putin hates Zelensky [because] he defeated his plans to subjugate Ukraine and dreams to get a pro-Russia candidate after the exhausting war. For Trump, it would also be handy to get a president who would be so weak that he would sign off all the Ukrainian resources.’
An ex-spokesman for Putin confirmed Russia wants a new leader in Ukraine.
Sergei Markov told BBC Radio 4’s Today that the ‘neo-Nazi criminal terrorist regime’ in Kyiv should be changed.
Asked if he wanted the US to topple Mr Zelensky and limit the size of Ukraine’s forces, he said: ‘Yes, most important, it’s not so much militarisation but de-militarisation.’
