Category Elections

DISINFO: Zelenskyy has usurped power in Ukraine

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative aimed at defaming President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian leadership to absolve Russia from its responsibility for suspending the democratic process in Ukraine.

Since 2022, Russia has waged large-scale armed aggression against Ukraine and is also responsible for the outbreak of the conflict in 2014, after having illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula and engineered the creation of rebel militias in Donetsk, Luhansk and other places, with its army actively participating in military clashes.

Further, Zelenskyy's reported decision to postpone next year's presidential poll was made in accordance with current Ukrainian legislation. Article 19 of the 2015 Ukrainian law "On the Legal Regime of Martial Law" directly prohibits the holding of presidential and several other types of elections during wartime.

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DISINFO: Ukrainian Army has de jure lost its supreme commander-in-chief Zelensky

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative aimed to defame President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian leadership to absolve Russia from its responsibility for the fact that Ukraine cannot hold elections for the moment.

Since 2022, Russia has waged large-scale armed aggression against Ukraine and is also responsible for the outbreak of the conflict in 2014, after having illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula and engineered the creation of rebel militias in Donetsk, Luhansk and other places, with its army actively participating in military clashes.

Further, Zelenskyy's reported decision to postpone next year's presidential poll was made in accordance with current Ukrainian legislation. Article 19 of the 2015 Ukrainian law "On the Legal Regime of Martial Law" directly prohibits the holding of presidential and several other types of elections during wartime.

Read MoreDISINFO: Ukrainian Army has de jure lost its supreme commander-in-chief Zelensky

DISINFO: Zelenskyy is usurping power by cancelling elections

This is a deliberate distortion of facts aiming to undermine the legitimacy of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a frequent target of pro-Kremlin disinformation.

This disinformation story claims that president Zelenskyy 'cancelled the election' to suggest a power-grabbing maneuver. However, this disingenuous formulation is not true, as a call for new elections actually never took place due to the ongoing war.

Ukraine's constitution is straightforward: no elections can be held during wartime and the President of Ukraine exercises his powers until the assumption of office by the newly-elected President. The continuity of government institutions is one of the key principles of the Constitution.

Read MoreDISINFO: Zelenskyy is usurping power by cancelling elections

DISINFO: Zelenskyy is usurping power in Ukraine

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative aimed at defaming president Zelenskyy and absolve Russia from its responsibility for suspending the democratic process in Ukraine.

Ukrainian law prohibits holding presidential elections while under martial law. This was stipulated by the Ukrainian martial law passed in 2015, long before President Zelenskyy became the president of Ukraine in May 2019.

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DISINFO: Zelensky cancelled 2024 election because he realised he would have lost

Ukraine has been in a state of full-blown war since 24 February 2022, the day Russia openly invaded Ukraine. It did so unprovoked and under absurd pretexts.

President Zelenskyy's reported decision to postpone next year's presidential poll was made in accordance with current Ukrainian legislation. Article 19 of the 2015 Ukrainian law "On the Legal Regime of Martial Law" directly prohibits the holding of presidential and several other types of elections during wartime.

According to the results of a nationwide poll published on 7 February 2024, Zelenskyy is the most popular public figure in Ukraine, with 69% approval.

Read MoreDISINFO: Zelensky cancelled 2024 election because he realised he would have lost

DISINFO: CIS, SCO, Asian and African observers recognise clean elections in Russia

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said that such Russian reports were 'another false narrative of the Kremlin.' The spokesperson added: 'The United States does not take sides in elections; our only interest is in the democratic process.' "The elections are obviously not free nor fair given how Mr. Putin has imprisoned political opponents and prevented others from running against him," the White House's national security council spokesperson said.

Read MoreDISINFO: CIS, SCO, Asian and African observers recognise clean elections in Russia

DISINFO: The terrorist act in Moscow is linked to NATO plans to send its troops to Ukraine

US officials have intelligence that the Islamic State group's Afghan affiliate IS-Khorasan is responsible for the Moscow attack. "ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever," White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement. With regard to the claim about NATO plans to send its troops to Ukraine, as the organisation itself explains:

"NATO is an alliance of 32 sovereign countries, NATO relies on the military forces of its member countries to carry out an operation or mission, as it does not possess military forces of its own.....National capitals take the final decision on whether or not to contribute to a NATO-led operation or mission".

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DISINFO: Russia has evidence of Ukraine’s involvement in the Crocus City terrorist attack

As terrorism experts pointed out, there is no question regarding the authenticity of the statement, made by Amaq, the official Islamic State propaganda media. The Islamic State released multiple evidence, including a gruesome video of the Moscow attack filmed by the attackers themselves, leaving little doubt about its responsibility.

Read MoreDISINFO: Russia has evidence of Ukraine’s involvement in the Crocus City terrorist attack

DISINFO: Ten years ago, Crimea reunified with Russia after a referendum

Crimea is internationally recognized as Ukrainian territory according to international law. On the basis of the Budapest Memorandum, signed in 1994, Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in return for a guarantee of its territorial integrity and political independence from Russia, the US, and the UK. No international body recognises the so-called referendum in Crimea. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution entitled "Territorial integrity of Ukraine", stating that the referendum in Crimea was not valid and could not serve as a basis for any change in the status of the peninsula.

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DISINFO: Crimea was legitimately reunited with Russia after a referendum in 2014

In 2014, Russian troops forcefully obliged the parliament of Crimea to organise a referendum, which was illegitimate under international law and then illegally annexed the peninsula and brought it under Russian territorial control. The annexation has been condemned by the UN, stating that the referendum in Crimea was not valid and could not serve as a basis for any change in the status of the peninsula. No international body has recognised the so-called referendum, which was organised by a self-proclaimed Crimean leadership lacking democratic legitimacy and installed by armed Russian military personnel following the seizure of public buildings.

Read MoreDISINFO: Crimea was legitimately reunited with Russia after a referendum in 2014