Volodymyr Zelensky is desperate to hold on to power and wants Russia to recognize his legitimacy so he can remain president, claims a false narrative promoted by pro-Russians in the West and amplified by the pro-Kremlin press.
NEWS: Irish journalist Chey Bowes criticized Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky on his X page for asking Russia to recognize him as the legitimate president. "Zelensky is desperately trying to escape the status of a president whose term has expired," Bowes said.
He wrote that Volodymyr Zelensky, in a state of panic, is urging Moscow to reconsider its position on his illegitimacy. The journalist also called Zelensky "a clown without a crown." Earlier, the German newspaper Junge Welt wrote that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's demands that Russia recognize his legitimacy and not consider him "a president with an expired mandate" indicate the politician's desperation.
Journalists also noted that if Russia were to "legitimize" Zelensky now through a "high-level" meeting, this would give him the opportunity to avoid holding elections in Ukraine and remain in power "indefinitely."
NARRATIVES: 1. Volodymyr Zelensky is an illegitimate president whose term has expired. 2. Ukraine refuses to hold elections in order to keep Zelensky in power. 3. The request to Russia to recognize its legitimacy indicates Kyiv's political desperation. 4. The Kyiv leadership is using the war as a pretext to block a change in power.
PURPOSE: To undermine the legitimacy of Ukraine's political leadership; to justify Russia's refusal to negotiate a ceasefire; to shift responsibility for the prolongation of the war onto Kyiv; to promote the idea that Ukraine is operating outside the law.
Reality: The government in Kyiv is legal and legitimate, and the inability to hold elections is a direct consequence of Russia’s military aggression.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: The text published by Gazeta.ru and reposted by several pro-Kremlin publications is based on two sources: a post on social media by former Russia Today correspondent Chey Bowes and an opinion piece published in the far-left, openly Marxist newspaper Junge Welt. Neither source is considered credible in the Western public sphere.
The statements quoted from Junge Welt cannot be considered representative of the German press, as the publication has an extreme left-wing ideological orientation, is marginal in the media landscape, and is known for its consistently critical stance toward NATO and the EU. Furthermore, Junge Welt is frequently quoted by the Russian press precisely to create the appearance of a critical Western view of Kyiv. The newspaper's interpretations of Volodymyr Zelensky's "desperation" or his alleged desire to remain in power "indefinitely" ignore the constitutional context of Ukraine, which is under martial law because of the Russian aggression.
There is no evidence that Volodymyr Zelensky has directly asked Russia to recognize his legitimacy. The narrative is constructed by reinterpreting posts and press articles. Volodymyr Zelensky's indirect requests for the Russian Federation to stop contesting his legitimacy are not an attempt to retain power, but a direct response to Moscow's constant strategy of blocking any real discussion of a ceasefire. Russia has repeatedly made a ceasefire conditional on the issue of the alleged "illegitimacy" of the Ukrainian leadership, changing the narrative precisely when the possibility of an agreement arises. This mechanism has been used systematically for over two years to delay a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
Zelensky seeks to clarify from the outset that Ukraine has constitutional authority to negotiate a ceasefire, including in its relations with the US. The move is intended to demonstrate Kyiv's willingness to seek a diplomatic solution and to expose Russia's deliberate refusal to halt hostilities. Furthermore, Volodymyr Zelensky does not need recognition or legitimization from the Russian Federation, let alone from Vladimir Putin, who has been in power for over 25 years through successive terms and constitutional maneuvers, including the formal Putin-Medvedev rotation, while Ukraine has experienced real alternation of power, with four different presidents elected through competitive elections during the same period.
The claim that Ukraine refuses to hold elections for political reasons ignores the military reality. Elections were not held in 2024 because Ukraine was under martial law as a result of the Russian Federation's invasion. The Ukrainian constitution does not allow elections to be held during wartime, precisely to prevent a power vacuum and institutional collapse. Various democratic states have done the same in contexts of major conflict. The United Kingdom did not hold elections while it was under constant bombardment by Nazi Germany, in order to maintain the functioning of the state.
Russia can end this situation at any time by stopping the invasion and bombing, which would allow free and secure elections to be held. Beyond the legal framework, holding elections is also impossible from a technical perspective. Nearly one million Ukrainian soldiers are on the front line, in active combat, which makes it impossible for them to participate in a safe electoral process. Polling stations cannot be set up in trenches or in areas under constant bombardment, and the temporary withdrawal of military personnel for voting would directly affect the state's defense capabilities.
At the same time, millions of Ukrainian citizens are scattered across dozens of countries, having fled the war. A significant number of them are in an uncertain legal situation, without documents or with expired documents, and Ukrainian embassies and consulates are unable to ensure complete electoral registration of all refugees. Under these circumstances, the basic principles of a democratic election cannot be guaranteed: universal suffrage, equal opportunities, security of the process, and transparency of the results.
By insistently promoting the demand for elections to be held in the midst of war, Russian propaganda seeks to impose an electoral process that could not, under any circumstances, be technically and democratically legitimate. The aim is to create a situation in which any result could subsequently be contested, including the legitimacy of any new leadership elected under improper conditions. This mechanism indicates the Russian Federation's intention to avoid ending the conflict, resorting to artificial pretexts and selective citation of marginal external sources ideologically favorable to Moscow to justify the continuation of the war.
CONTEXT: Chey Bowes is an Irish journalist known for his pro-Russian and anti-Western stance. He was a correspondent for the Russian government television channel Russia Today. In 2023, he stated that Nazism in Ukraine would be officially recognized by European states. Bowes has repeatedly claimed that a civil war took place in Ukraine between 2014 and 2022 and that NATO is seeking to destroy Russia . In May 2025, Chay Bowes was detained by the Romanian border police at Henri Coandă Airport while attempting to enter the country. RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan wrote on X that he had come to Romania with the intention of reporting on the presidential elections and accused the authorities in Bucharest of turning the country into a "testing ground for authoritarianism." Russian propaganda uses his opinions in order to create the impression that there is a Western consensus against the policies of Western governments, when in reality Bowes represents a marginal position in British journalism.
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