Putin's remarks about Zelensky's legitimacy absurd - Sybiha
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said this in a post on social media platform X, Ukrinform reports.
"Putin's remarks about the legitimacy of Ukraine's President are absurd. During his quarter-century stay in the Kremlin, Ukraine saw three presidents change in fair elections; President Trump returned for a second term after an impressive victory. This is democracy and legitimacy," he wrote.
Sybiha noted that instead, Putin usurped power by tearing up Russian constitution, killing or imprisoning opponents, destroying free media, organizing a sham vote for himself, and remaining in power already longer than Stalin.
"Now this person is lecturing the world on legitimacy. Give us a break," Sybiha added.
According to him, Putin's statements are lies intended to mislead foreign leaders and audiences.
"Only fools can trust them. If anyone's legitimacy is called into question, it is that of Moscow's dictator, who creates cannon fodder from men in their twenties born while he was already in power," the minister said.
Earlier, analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that Putin had once again reiterated the false Russian narrative that Zelensky is "illegitimate" - firmly establishing that the deposition of Ukraine's legitimate, democratic government is one of the Kremlin's prerequisites for "a negotiated settlement to the war."
