Zelensky’s presidency illegitimate under Ukrainian law, but not for the reason Putin cites

Putin and others are arguing that Zelensky is not duly authorized to negotiate a peace agreement. I agree he is not, but not on the basis Putin puts forth. Putin’s argument may not even hold water.

To understand the real reason that Zelensky is not legitimate, we have to go back to the history of the Maidan revolt that was illegally transformed by the Obama-Biden regime from a peaceful protest movement to a violent coup d’etat.

Below is an article that provides useful background information on the illegal and immoral involvement in the Maidan movement by, among others, the mentally ill “cookie lady” Victoria Nuland, Obama’s viscerally anti-Russian under secretary of state.

https://www.sott.net/article/298197-Poroshenko-admits-overthrow-of-Yanukovych-was-a-coup\

Poroshenko admits overthrow of Yanukovych was a coup

Eric Zuesse
Washington's Blog
Mon, 22 Jun 2015 12:51 UTC

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko requests the supreme court of Ukraine to declare that his predecessor, Viktor Yanukovych, was overthrown by an illegal operation; in other words, that the post-Yanukovych government, including Poroshenko's own Presidency, came into power from a coup, not from something democratic, not from any authentic constitutional process at all.

In a remarkable document, which is not posted at the English version of the website of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, but which is widely reported outside the United States, including Russia, Poroshenko, in Ukrainian (not in English), has petitioned the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (as it is being widely quoted in English):

"I ask the court to acknowledge that the law 'on the removal of the presidential title from Viktor Yanukovych' as unconstitutional."

I had previously reported, and here will excerpt, Poroshenko's having himself admitted prior to 26 February 2014, to the EU's investigator, and right after the February 22nd overthrow of Yanukovych, that the overthrow was a coup, and that it was even a false-flag operation, in which the snipers, who were dressed as if they were Ukrainian Security Bureau troops, were actually not, and that, as the EU's investigator put his finding to the EU's chief of foreign affairs Catherine Ashton [and with my explanatory annotations here]:

"the same oligarch [Poroshenko — and so when he became President he already knew this] told that well, all the evidence shows that the people who were killed by snipers, from both sides, among policemen and people from the streets, [this will shock Ashton, who had just said that Yanukovych had masterminded the killings] that they were the same snipers, killing people from both sides [so, Poroshenko himself knows that his regime is based on a false-flag U.S.-controlled coup d'etat against his predecessor]. ... Behind the snipers, it was not Yanukovych, but it was somebody from the new coalition."

This was when Ashton first learned that the myth that Yanukovych had been overthrown as a result of public outrage at his having rejected the EU's offer of membership to Ukraine was just a hoax. (Actually, the planning for this coup was already under way in the U.S. Embassy by at least early 2013, well prior to Yanukovych's EU decision. Furthermore, the Ukrainian public's approval of the government peaked right after Yanukovych announced his rejection of the EU's offer, but then the U.S.-engineered "Maidan" riots caused that approval to plunge.)

If the Court grants Poroshenko's petition, then the appointment of Arseniy Yatsenyuk by the U.S. State Department's Victoria Nuland on 4 February 2014, which was confirmed by the Ukrainian parliament (or Rada) at the end of the coup on February 26th, and the other appointments which were made, including that of Oleksandr Turchynov to fill in for Yanukovych as caretaker President until one of the junta's chosen candidates would be 'elected' on May 25th of 2014, which 'election' Poroshenko won — all of this was illegal.

However, this illegality had already been known. It was already explained in detail on 28 February 2014, that, "Yanukovych's removal was unconstitutional." That's for lawyers; but, now, finally, Ukraine's Constitutional Court is faced with the shocking predicament of Ukraine's own President, who won his post as a result of this coup, requesting them to "acknowledge" that it was a coup, much as the founder of the "private CIA" firm Stratfor had even called it, "the most blatant coup in history." (It was that because the authentic video and other evidence of its having been a Washington job was so massive.)

Also in the news now is that Dmitriy Yarosh's Right Sector — the same group that Washington had hired for the coup and for the ethnic cleansing campaign in Ukraine's former Donbass region — have announced that they will assemble in Kiev on July 3rd to overthrow Poroshenko unless he restarts right now the war against Donbass. The people whom Washington paid to oust Yanukovych are planning to do the same to Poroshenko.

There is a struggle inside the Obama Administration about how far they can successfully go with their Ukrainian nazis not formally leading the country. Washington is having a hard time keeping in line the Ukrainian nazis upon whom Washington's plan for Ukraine has been based. Ukraine's nazis are thirsting for Russian blood, and want to slake their thirst faster than the Obama Administration is willing to go along with. Washington's previous "F—k the EU!" hasn't worked as well as they had hoped. There is thus increasingly bad blood between the Obama Administration and the Ukrainian enforcers upon whom Obama has been relying.

Basically, Poroshenko now is torn between the EU, on one side, and Ukraine's well-armed nazis, on the other; and, thus far, the ultimate decider, U.S. President Obama, who has needed cooperation both from Ukraine's nazis and from the EU, in order for his Ukrainian gambit against Russia to work, is on the fence between those two sides. John Kerry sides with the EU; Victoria Nuland sides with the nazis. But Obama himself hasn't yet played his hand.

…

Me

Further to the assertion that the regime that replaced Yanukovich in 2014 was indeed a Washington project and not an expression of the Ukrainian voters’ will was the leaked phone conversation between Victoria Nuland and then-US ambassador to Ukraine Jeffrey Pyatt, the complete transcript of which is posted at the BBC web site:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26079957

The damning passage is this:

Nuland: [Breaks in] I think Yats is the guy who's got the economic experience, the governing experience. He's the... what he needs is Klitsch and Tyahnybok on the outside. He needs to be talking to them four times a week, you know. I just think Klitsch going in... he's going to be at that level working for Yatseniuk, it's just not going to work.

Victoria Nuland and Geoffrey Pyatt together toured the opposition camp in Kiev in December

Nuland’s preference for Arsenyi Yatsenyuk was likely determined by the latter’s strongly po-Nazi views because in Ukraine, the more pro-Nazi a group is, the more its members hate Russia. Nazism and Russophobia are both related pathologies.

No normal Americans would have ever thought of teaming up with Nazis as allies. ONLY mentally ill officials could possibly have committed the crimes against of humanity committed by the Obama-Biden regime in Ukraine.

Result? Russia’s brotherly neighbor has now lost the bulk of its male population and is no longer a functioning state. And the Washington Neocons/Neonazis have racked up a $36 trillion debt that will never be paid down or off, leaving the US in a precarious state economically, and thanks to its endless senseless wars and its support for genocide, has left us with a dismal reputation among nations that makes us the most hated nation on the planet.

We have wrecked our relationship with what is likely the militarily most powerful country in the world that, with its hydrocarbons sent via pipeline, created the German “economic miracle” that made Germany the second biggest exporter in the world after China. Thanks to the US’s insane nihilistically destructive policy, which forced Europe to renounce almost all trade with Russia, Germany is now becoming a failed state and the rest of Europe is following its sad example.

What for?

Why?

Who were the winners in this deplorable saga?

…

Putin has said that, according to the Ukrainian Constitution, while the election of the Verkhovna Rada can be suspended during martial law, the election of the president cannot.

However, I have not found in Russian articles referencing this statement by Putin any citations from the Ukrainian Constitution that would confirm this statement.

This led me to do a Ukrainian-language search for documentation pertaining to the matter.

Unfortunately, I have found a Bulletin of the Verkhovna Rada of 2015 – before the Ukraine conflict - which seems to contradict Putin. While this citation (see below) is not an excerpt of the Constitution itself, I believe the Verkhovna Rada would hardly make laws that contradict the Constitution. And since this Bulletin predates the conflict, we can conclude that it was not motivated by a desire to keep Zelensky in power indefinitely on the pretext of martial law.

This one paragraph from said Bulletin, cited below in translation, seems to contradict what Putin said, indicating that, apparently, Zelensky is still the legitimately elected president of Ukraine and is authorized to negotiate a peace treaty with its adversary. (but there’s a nuance)

Translation from Ukrainian:

https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/389-19?lang=en#Text

(Bulletin of the Verkhovna Rada (VVR), 2015, No. 28, p.250)

Article 11. Activities of the President of Ukraine under martial law

3. In the event of the expiration of the term of office of the President of Ukraine during the period of martial law, his powers shall be extended until the newly elected President of Ukraine, elected after the abolition of martial law, takes office.

There it is in black and white, no longer subject to speculation. Further, there is no time limit in this document that would impede Zelensky’s further exercise of the presidential power. But there’s a catch…

However, this is only a reference to national law of Ukraine. But what does international law say?

Ukraine is a signatory to international laws that may not legitimize Zelensky’s continued power as president.

The document linked below, from Columbia University Law Review, provides pertinent information about international law regarding the legitimacy of Zelensky. The author takes the view that Zelensky’s claim to power is illegitimate under international law.

https://www.culawreview.org/journal/upholding-democratic-legitimacy-under-martial-law-ukraines-legal-mandate-for-the-2024-presidential-election

Excerpt

“According to Article 1 of the Law of Ukraine, martial law is a “special legal regime” that “provides for the provision of appropriate state authorities, military command . . . [and] local self-government of the powers necessary to ... [temporarily restrict] the constitutional rights and freedoms of a person and citizen.” [11] Similarly, Article 8 secures the right to implement “. . . temporary restrictions on the constitutional rights and freedoms of a person and a citizen, as well as the rights and legal interests of legal entities.” [12] Both Article 1 and Article 8 emphasize the temporary restriction of rights and liberties during times of military crisis. In this case, it appears that the term ‘temporary’ is continually being redefined by Ukraine as it navigates an ever-changing military landscape. Therefore, Article 11 ensures that the current President of Ukraine and his powers “cannot be limited in the conditions of martial law.” [13] Yet, the absence of a limit on these “temporary” restrictions is inherently incompatible with the responsibility to hold regular and free elections under international law. Article 22 states that “[any] attempt to use the imposition of martial law to seize power entails liability under the law.” [14] In October 2023, martial law was extended, and in turn, the Verkhovna Rada was unable to hold its parliamentary election. [15] Likewise, this extension of martial law canceled the 2024 presidential elections. Based on Article 22, extending martial law to offset a parliamentary or presidential election is an unlawful seizure of power. While President Zelensky was previously elected by the Ukrainian people, he is no longer the rightfully elected leader of their country. His power is granted by virtue of martial law extensions, not by the votes of the Ukrainian people.”

Although in principle I find it difficult to accept the sneaky antics of Zelensky, Article 22 does not explicitly state that he has no right to stay in power under Article 22, especially since the war is ongoing.

However, my argument for disqualifying Zelensky would be that the current regime in Ukraine was not a project of Ukraine but rather of the warmongering US Neocon regime of Obama-Biden that illegally seized power on the Maidan in 2014, as amply documented above.

And that means that no matter who comes to power in Ukraine from here on out, or until the war ends, is illegitimate because the Ukrainian people had nothing to do with this US project of destruction. They were in fact victims and hostages of Washington’s evil machinations.

And this is sufficient rationale for rejecting the legitimacy of Zelensky. The Western press insists on writing “president Zelensky,” but most Russian journalists write “nominal president” or “illegitimate president” instead of “president” in this context.

I suspect that Putin may educate Trump about this sticking point. If I recall correctly, Putin already said he would not negotiate with Zelensky under any circumstances. At least one Russian commentator said Putin may have to negotiate with the speaker of the Verkhna Rada.

**

Here’s your air strike update for Jan 18, 2024

Search phrases for those who want to do their own research:

EN phrase for translation: Dec 18, 2024, russian missiles, drones, bombs hit Ukraine

Translated into RU: 18 декабря, 2024, российские ракеты, беспилотники, бомбы поражают Украину

Google translate:

https://translate.google.com/?sl=auto&tl=en&op=translate

To optimize results, searches must be done in Yandex search –

https://ya.ru/

Translation with my notes in bold and in [brackets]

https://www.1tv.ru/news/2024-12-18/495895-vs_rf_nanosyat_novye_massirovannye_udary_po_tylovym_rayonam_vsu

December 18, 2024, 09:00

Russian Armed Forces launch new massive strikes on rear areas of the Ukrainian Armed Forces

At night, explosions thundered in the Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts. According to some reports, places where militants and military equipment were concentrated were hit. In the Kyiv oblast, there was a deployment point for foreign mercenaries. There were also reports of strikes in the Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Kirovograd, Cherkasy oblasts and in Kherson, which is controlled by Kyiv.

In the Krasnoarmeysk direction of the special operation, Russian air defense forces shot down a Ukrainian Baba Yaga heavy copter . The hit was from an anti-aircraft gun.

A column of NATO equipment was destroyed in the Kursk border area. Some of the saboteurs' vehicles were blown up by mines, while others were finished off by FPV drones. And now Russian specialists are studying the valuable trophies.

**

Translation with my notes in bold and in [brackets]

https://iz.ru/1809851/2024-12-18/na-ukraine-soobshchili-o-vzryvakh-v-kievskoi-oblasti

Ukraine reports explosions in Kyiv oblast

December 18, 2024, 23:36

Explosions have been heard in Kyiv oblast. This was reported on December 18 by the regional military administration in the Telegram channel.

It is specified that the sounds of explosions are related to the operation of air defense systems.

According to the online map of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, air raid alerts have been declared in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad, Kharkiv and Cherkasy oblasts.

Yesterday, December 17, explosions were reported in Pavlograd, Cherkasy and Kherson, which is controlled by the Kyiv regime.

In October 2022, Russian troops began striking military facilities and related energy and communications facilities in Ukraine. As Russian President Vladimir Putin explained, this was a response to the terrorist actions of the Kyiv regime.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was made against the backdrop of the worsening situation in the region.

**

Translation with my notes in bold and in [brackets]

https://tsargrad.tv/news/sklady-kazarmy-najomniki-gremit-po-vsej-ukraine-rezultaty-russkih-udarov-ozvuchilo-podpole_1103718

December 18, 2024 01:47

Warehouses, barracks, mercenaries - thunder all over Ukraine: The underground reported the results of Russian strikes

In Ukraine, strikes were carried out at night on warehouses, barracks, and the location of foreign mercenaries. The underground reported details on the targets of Russian missiles.

The coordinator of the Russian underground in Nikolaev, Sergei Lebedev, named the targets that were hit by Russian missiles and drones in Ukraine last night.

As RIA Novosti reports, citing Lebedev, it was loud all over Ukraine on the night of December 18. The sounds of explosions, and in some places flames rising after secondary detonation, were noted by the underground in Kyiv, Vyshgorod, Obukhov, near Kharkov and Pavlograd, in the suburbs of Sumy, the outskirts of Svetlovodsk and Kremenchug.

At the same time, the underground clarifies that the impacts near Kharkov and Pavlograd were in the area of ​​military warehouses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and places where military equipment is deployed, after the strikes it was especially loud here. Near Sumy, the Russians struck the location of the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, quartered in an educational institution.

In Kyiv, the air defense system did not work. The air raid alarm sounded after a powerful explosion. At the same time, in part of the city after the explosion, electricity went out.

Military warehouses near Svitlovodsk and Kremenchug were hit, there were also hits on the airfield in Starokonstantinov, which is often used by the Ukrainian air force to strike Russian troops and populated areas.

"In the suburbs of Kyiv, Obukhov and Vyshgorod - there were hits. So far, we believe that foreign mercenaries were hit in Vyshgorod, about three dozen. But we are checking the information," notes Sergei Lebedev. The Russian Defense Ministry has not yet commented on this series of strikes. Ukrainian sources have not reported the use of a large number of ships and aircraft by the Russian army either [ships and aircraft are typically used to launch large missiles, esp hypersonic ones]. Targets in Ukraine could have been attacked last night using kamikaze drones, the combat capabilities, range, maneuverability, and speed of which have increased significantly in Russian troop formations recently. According to the Defense Ministry, our troops use several thousand drones per day: we are not only talking about long-range kamikaze drones, but also reconnaissance and correction UAVs, small FPV drones, and so on.

**

Translation with my notes in bold and in [brackets]

https://fedpress.ru/news/77/policy/3354311

December 18, 2024, 14:110

FederalPress Editorial Board / Maria Centralnaya

Destruction of Ukrainian Airfields and Successes in the DPR: What Happened in the Fields of the Northern Military District on December 18

MOSCOW, December 18 FederalPress. The Russian Armed Forces have hit Ukrainian military airfields and liberated new territories in the DPR. Enemy losses have exceeded 1,600 people in a day. FederalPress has collected the main news from the fields of the Northern Military District on the morning of December 18.

Strikes on Ukrainian Air Force Military Airfields and Warehouses

Today, Russian aviation, using attack UAVs, missiles, and artillery, struck the infrastructure of military airfields, drone assembly workshops and storage sites, as well as concentrations of Ukrainian Armed Forces manpower and military equipment in 139 districts. The Russian Defense Ministry reported this in its daily report.

The enemy's military depots in Svetlovodsk, Kirovograd Oblast, and Kremenchug, Poltava Oblast, were also hit, RIA Novosti reports, citing pro-Russian resistance coordinator Sergei Lebedev. According to him, among other things, the enemy's armored vehicles were destroyed.

In addition, the air defense forces shot down an American long-range HIMARS missile and 43 enemy aircraft-type UAVs.

**

Translation with my notes in bold and in [brackets]

https://kubnews.ru/obshchestvo/2024/12/18/vs-rf-nanesli-udary-po-aerodromam-i-tsekham-sborki-bespilotnikov-vsu/

The Russian Armed Forces struck airfields and workshops for the assembly of Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles

The storage sites of enemy UAVs were also hit.

The Russian Armed Forces carried out destructive strikes against several large enemy targets over the past 24 hours. Including military airfields and workshops for the assembly of Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles. This was reported on December 18 by the Russian Defense Ministry.

- The infrastructure of military airfields, workshops for the assembly of unmanned aerial vehicles and their storage sites, concentrations of manpower and military equipment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 139 districts were damaged, according to the federal agency's report.

It is specified that operational-tactical aviation, attack drones, missile troops and artillery successfully struck the targets.

Russian troops periodically carry out such powerful strikes against enemy targets. Earlier, it became known about the destroyed workshops for the production of missile weapons. It was also reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed the workshop for producing components for Sapsan missiles, and the enemy also lost the places for testing them.

**

Translation with my notes in bold and in [brackets]

https://aif.ru/politics/world/vozmezdie-za-terakt-seriya-moshchneyshih-udarov-obrushilas-na-ukrainu

**

Christians beheaded, shot in the valley of the Christians following the terrorist takeover of Syria

https://jihadwatch.org/2024/12/syria-christians-beheaded-shot-in-the-valley-of-the-christians-video-circulates-telling-christians-to-leave

**

Our thanks to AN for this:

Iran's Proxy Back In Action | 4000 Hamas Militants Ready To Surprise IDF As Israel Plans Syria Ops?

https://yandex.ru/video/preview/7003479234356704271

…

"A state founded on apartheid and settler colonialism is no longer viable."

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/12/16/genocide-israel-is-living-in-the-past

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/12/16/live-israel-kills-50-in-gaza-plans-to-double-settlements-in-golan-heights

**

Serbia is redefining its place in the world, shifting away from EU dominance and aligning itself with Russia, China and the BRICS bloc. This bold move could reshape global alliances and challenge Europe's influence in the Balkans.

Related:

Please re-read my article of December 2017 published on Pravda, Freenations, InSerbia and the Off-Guardian, as well as in the British Church Newspaper at that time. Here is the Off-Guardian link to the article in case you cannot access it on any of the ofher sources. Thank you.

https://off-guardian.org/2017/12/18/nato-the-tool-of-european-neo-fascism-and-popes-blessed-silence/

Arthur