MOSCOW, December 22. /TASS/. Until the rights of the Russian diaspora in Ukraine are restored, there can be no free elections in the country, Viktor Medvedchuk, head of the Other Ukraine movement and former leader of the banned Opposition Platform - For Life party, said.

"Zelensky has every lever at his disposal to curb and distort the will of the people and impose his conditions on the country in his personal concentration camp. Analysis of legislative documents shows that this is neo-Nazi law, directed against the Russian language, culture, and canonical Orthodoxy, sowing national discord and genocide at the state level. In such a legal environment, it is impossible to hold free elections, since any political force that defends peace, law, and order in the country immediately falls under bans, repression, and criminal prosecution," Medvedchuk wrote in an article published on the Other Ukraine website.

The politician stressed that it is necessary to bring the country’s legislation into line with "the requirements of Part Three of Article 10 of the Ukrainian Constitution, which guarantees the free development, use, and protection of Russian and other languages of national minorities, as well as the norms of international law and the provisions of the Ukrainian law On National Minorities (communities) of Ukraine." He also called for repealing "other discriminatory normative acts regulating the use of languages, negating the rights of citizens to freedom of worldview, religious beliefs, political and social activities; criminally repressive acts of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada that violate freedom of speech, the right to freely express one’s views and beliefs, and are aimed at eroding historical memory."

Medvedchuk noted that only if "this legislation is repealed, the election results may be recognized as legitimate."

Election proposals

Zelensky’s presidential powers officially expired on May 20, 2024, but Kiev did not hold regular elections, arguing that this was impossible due to the ongoing martial law.

On December 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the Results of the Year program that Russia was ready to consider stopping strikes deep inside Ukraine on voting day if elections took place there. He also noted that between five million and ten million Ukrainians living in Russia should have the right to vote in Ukrainian elections.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said the time was right for elections in Ukraine. Zelensky later asked the US and Europe to ensure the security of the vote.