US President Donald Trump has made big accusations against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he said that Ukraine started the war against Russia. Trump also called Zelenskyy a dictator without elections.
As US President Donald Trump accuses Ukraine of starting the war with Russia, the debate over the origin of Russia-Ukraine has again hogged the limelight. The war, which has been ravaging Ukraine for the last three years, has resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of Ukrainian lives. Trump, in his accusation, attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, calling him a “dictator without elections” and claiming that his popularity among voters plummeted to a new low.
Did Ukraine start the war?
Notably, the Russian Army crossed the border with Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching an all-out invasion that Vladimir Putin said was aimed at protecting the Russian-speaking civilians in eastern Ukraine. Russia’s attack on Ukraine was seen as Moscow’s attempt to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO.
Russian aggression dates back to 2014, when Putin sensed that Ukraine was moving out of Moscow’s sphere of influence as it was looking to forge relations with Western European nations.
Russia launched an attack on Crimea and annexed the Crimean Peninsula. The armed aggression in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas intensified and became a long-running conflict, resulting in the loss of thousands of lives.
Is Zelenskyy a dictator?
Another statement that Trump made was regarding elections in Ukraine, in which he said, “A Dictator without elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a country left.”
However, it is crucial to note that Zelenskyy was elected to a five-year term in 2019, with the next presidential elections scheduled for spring 2024. Ukrainian law prohibits parliamentary or presidential elections during a state of martial law, so Zelenskyy has remained in office. The country would need to amend the law if it decided to hold a vote.
There are certain factors that may render it literally impossible to ensure a fair electoral process in the wake of a war in Ukraine.
According to the United Nations’ refugee agency, approximately 6.9 million Ukrainian refugees have been registered worldwide since February 2022. Millions of them remain outside Ukraine due to the war, and it would be impossible for all of those who have been displaced to participate in an election process.
(With inputs from AP)
