Putin questions political legitimacy of Zelensky in absence of elections

Russian Prez

Putin queried the

political legitimacy

of Ukrainian Prez Volodymyr

Zelensky

on Friday. Martial law imposed after Russia invasion in Feb 2022 means Zelensky will not face an election when his term technically expires later this month. When asked whether Zelensky's political legitimacy was becoming an issue, Putin, who was re-elected for a six-year term in March, said the matter was a question for Ukraine's constitutional court and political system to decide.

But he said the question mattered to Russia because if and when it signed some kind of agreement with Ukraine in future about the war it wanted to be sure it was signing a deal with the right person. Washington has said Putin's own re-election was neither free nor fair in comments which was rejected by Moscow.