DONALD TRUMP ACCUSED Volodymyr Zelenskyy of being a “dictator” this week, after the Ukrainian President said his US counterpart had succumbed to “disinformation” about the war.

Zelenskyy’s remarks about disinformation came after Trump blamed Kyiv for “starting” the war with Russia.  

“A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform of the Ukrainian leader, whose five-year term expired last year.

Trump’s criticism of Zelenskyy was praised by Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who branded the Ukrainian president “pathetic” during a question-and-answer session with lawmakers in Russia’s State Duma.

Ukrainian law does not require elections during wartime. 

Zelenskyy was first elected in 2019 but has remained leader under martial law imposed following the Russian invasion.

Martial law and what it means 

A native-Russian speaker, Zelenskyy had initially aimed to end Ukraine’s conflict with Russia.

However, instead of simmering down hostilities, Russia, which had already occupied large swathes of Ukrainian territory since 2014, launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Martial law was announced in Ukraine that day.

Zelenskyy’s five-year term should have, under normal circumstances, run out last year. However, elections were never held as the country remains under martial law.

Martial law usually refers to a state of emergency characterised by military rule, often enacted during emergencies, like times of war.

Ukraine legislation governing martial law long precedes Zelenskyy, being codified in a 2015 law, as well as being enacted in 2018 after Russia fired on and seized Ukrainian navy vessels.

Ukrainian law requires that martial law be decreed by the President, but must be approved by the Rada, Ukraine’s parliament.

It also states that during martial law, certain long-term changes to how Ukraine is governed are forbidden, such as ammendments to the constitution, or holding elections for the Rada or the President.

It has also been argued that, even were it not illegal for Ukraine to hold elections, there would be good reason to delay them as many Ukrainians would be unable to vote. The UN’s refugee agency estimates that 6.8 million Ukrainians have fled abroad, while another 4 million are internally displaced. Millions more are in Russia-occupied regions.

No UK elections during World War 2 

Suspending elections during wartime is not unique to Ukraine. The Parliament of the United Kingdom voted in 1940 to delay its election during World War 2. Elections would not be held until 1945.

An EU commission report into Ukraine’s martial law in 2023 found that the “measures taken are temporary and overall proportionate to the situation in the country”.

The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, which regularly polls Ukrainians, noted in a release this week that “the majority in Ukrainian society continues to adhere to the opinion that elections should be held after the war and the priority is to strengthen the defense capability”.

Zelenskyy has shown approval ratings consistently above 50% since the invasion, including a high of 90% in March 2022, just after Russia launched its mass attack.

He had a 57% approval rate in the latest poll released this week. 

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