MOSCOW, February 24. /TASS/. The Verkhovna Rada, in the presence of European commissioners, failed to pass a resolution that would have extended Vladimir Zelensky’s powers, said Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak.
“The statement of the Verkhovna Rada on support for democracy in Ukraine <…> has failed,” he wrote in his Telegram channel.
There were 218 votes for, eight short of the 226 votes required to pass the resolution.
Zheleznyak noted that the resolution in question stated that Zelensky should continue to exercise his presidential powers. “Parliament emphasizes that <…> Vladimir Zelensky must carry out his responsibilities until a newly elected president assumes office,” the resolution said.
Zelensky’s presidential powers officially expired on May 20 of last year. As Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed, Zelensky is no longer a legitimate president, so any potential deals with Kiev must take this into account when signing legally binding documents. Putin explained that the current Ukrainian leadership is currently illegitimate, presenting legal hurdles that could derail the outcome of any negotiations. On February 18, US President Donald Trump said that Zelensky’s approval rating had dropped to 4% and Ukraine needed to hold elections if Kiev wanted to have a place at the negotiating table on a settlement. The next day, Trump called Zelensky a dictator for refusing to hold a vote, again pointing to his extremely low ratings.
Deputy Irina Gerashchenko said that after criticism from Trump the local authorities were ordered to adopt resolutions and write letters in support of Zelensky.
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