Ukrainian parliament speaker says Zelenskyy to remain as president until end of martial law

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine’s parliament speaker said on Tuesday that Volodymyr Zelenskyy will remain as the country’s president until the end of martial law introduced following the start of the Russia-Ukraine war.

“Volodymyr Zelenskyy is and will remain the President of Ukraine until the end of martial law. And all this, in accordance with the Constitution and laws of Ukraine,” Ruslan Stefanchuk wrote on X.

Earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a news conference in the Uzbek capital Tashkent that currently the only legitimate power in Ukraine is the Verkhovna Rada, the country’s parliament, and its speaker.

“I would recommend that inquisitive readers read the text of our Constitution not selectively and pay attention to Article 108, paragraph 1: ‘The President of Ukraine shall exercise his/her powers until the newly elected President of Ukraine takes office’,” Stefanchuk said.

He defined the “Russian narratives” on the subject to be “as predictable as they are meaningless.”

Zelenskyy’s five-year term in office expired on May 20, and debates have been ongoing in Ukraine over the legitimacy of the government’s authority in the absence of parliamentary and presidential elections, which cannot be held during martial law.

Commenting on the presidential election originally scheduled to take place in March, Zelenskyy said in November last year that it is “absolutely irresponsible” to talk of holding an election in a frivolous manner when there are “so many challenges” in wartime.

Martial law was first introduced on Feb. 24, 2022, when Russia launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine, and has been extended multiple times since then, most recently on May 10 for a period of 90 days.