MOSCOW, May 26. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky ceased to be a legitimate president of the country as his office term expired and all previously concluded agreements with him should be regarded as null and void, Russia’s State Duma (the lower house of the parliament) Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said on Sunday.
"By canceling the presidential election, Zelensky usurped the power," Volodin stated on his Telegram account. "Starting on May 21, he has completely lost the remnants of his pseudo-legitimacy."
"Any agreements with an illegitimate president are null and void and may be challenged in the future," he continued. "As his presidential office term expired, Zelensky has no longer the right to speak on behalf of the Ukrainian people."
Volodin pointed out that Zelensky had canceled the presidential election in his country in violation of the Constitution and for fear of losing power. Zelensky’s term of office is over and any references to the martial law contradict the Ukrainian Constitution, Russia’s top lawmaker pointed out.
"He has no right of declaring the [military] mobilization, sending people to war, or making any other decisions on behalf of the head of state," Volodin said.
"The people of Ukraine are the power in their country, which is being held hostage by a puppet dictator," Volodin said. "Everyone needs to grasp this notion both inside and outside Ukraine."
The issue of the legitimacy of the current authorities in the absence of parliamentary and presidential elections, which cannot be held amid martial law, is the focus of heated debates in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated earlier in the month that it was up to Ukraine to resolve the problem of Zelensky’s legitimacy both politically and legally. Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev told TASS earlier in the year that in a bid to hold onto power, Zelensky is violating the laws of his own country.