As US-led efforts to end the war in Ukraine continue, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has indicated that the Kremlin does not recognize the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and would not accept his signature on any peace deal. “When we come to a stage when you have to sign documents, we would need a very clear understanding by everybody that the person who is signing is legitimate,” Lavrov told NBC News in an August 24 interview. “And according to the Ukrainian constitution, Mr. Zelenskyy is not at the moment.”
This is not the first time Russia has expressed such doubts. Moscow has made attacking Zelenskyy’s legitimacy a centerpiece of its disinformation playbook, with Russian President Vladimir Putin also claiming earlier this year that the Ukrainian leader “has no right to sign anything” in potential peace talks.
The Kremlin’s goal is transparent. Russia seeks to fracture Ukrainian society, weaken Western support, and complicate future negotiations. But Moscow’s efforts to portray Zelenskyy as illegitimate fall apart when weighed against Ukraine’s Constitution and the country’s established political practice, along with international precedents and legal tradition.
Voice of Ukraine 