They also banned or nationalized many media outlets, censor media in general, and suspended eleven political parties during his term, which eventually became permanent bans.
Al Jazeera, Mar. 2022: Why did Ukraine suspend 11 ‘pro-Russia’ parties?
Europe is no bastion for frozen peaches, either. AP, Mar. 2024: EU bans 4 more Russian media outlets from broadcasting in the bloc, citing disinformation
Wild how upset people get when you point out basic facts of the situation.
Noone in US or EU would care about expiration of Zelensky’s presidential term as long as he’s reliable supplier of cannon fodder for proxy NATO-Russia war. Roosevelt’s words on Somoza ("he may be a son of a bitch, but he’s our son of a bitch’) would apply here as well.
There may be extenuating circumstances…
You’re anti-democratic.
There’s extenuating circumstances!
Last I checked, Russia held elections, but I guess cancelling the elections aligns closer with western values.
20% of Ukraine is currently occupied by a hostile foreign power. 0% of Russia is occupied.
Also, Russian elections give whatever results Putin wants, so the status of the electorate doesn’t really matter in the first place there.
That 20% has been liberated from the fascists Ukrainian state that was trying to ethnically cleanse it. They want no part in its elections.
Would that be the same 20% of Ukraine that was in civil war with the rest of Ukraine after the coup in 2014 by any chance? Meanwhile, even western media admits that Putin has massive popular support https://time.com/6977473/putin-opposition-movement-unity/
Russia did hold elections and is “liberal democratic” but Russia has hardly been turned into a warzone in the same way. There are probably other examples worth citing.
The point here is that if fighting Russia was a popular opinion in Ukraine, then the government would win by a landslide.
But there are some logistical difficulties involved in holding an election in a country currently being invaded, especially with the invasion being broadly successful.
That seems like a pretty weak excuse for cancelling the election, especially given that it would effectively be a referendum on whether to continue the war or not.
