LUGANSK, August 31. /TASS/. Last week Vladimir Zelensky ordered an increase in his security, according to Russian military expert Andrey Marochko.

"We caught word that Zelensky, fearing for his life, significantly increased his security measures last week. The paranoid mood of the illegitimate Ukrainian president has intensified ahead of the so-called Ukrainian Independence Day and continues to this day," Marochko wrote on the VKontakte social network.

Zelensky’s presidential term officially ended on May 20, 2024, but Kiev did not hold elections, claiming that this was impossible until the end of martial law.

At the same time, rumors periodically emerge in the country about an unannounced start of preparations for elections. Several opposition politicians openly talk about a crisis of legitimacy of the Ukrainian government. Zelensky made contradictory statements on this matter, at times claiming that he is ready to announce elections if Western partners finance them and "ensure security," but later saying that they are not timely. According to sociological surveys, Zelensky consistently ranks below former Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny and head of Zelensky’s office Kirill Budanov (listed in Russia as a terrorist and extremist), who were mentioned as his possible rivals in the event of elections, and, for some time now, also former Defense Minister Mikhail Fyodorov.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin said that Zelensky’s presidential term "has expired along with his legitimacy, which cannot be restored by any tricks."

Ukraine’s Independence Day is celebrated annually on August 24.