It all began in the spring of the previous year when the Kremlin introduced a new weapon in its ongoing attacks against President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia declared in May 2024 that the legitimacy of the Ukrainian leader had expired, following his orchestrated re-election at home just two months prior. This statement marked the beginning of a deliberate campaign by Moscow to portray Mr. Zelensky as an impostor who could not negotiate a peace deal without holding new presidential elections in Ukraine.
By the following Wednesday, the White House had echoed this message, with President Trump calling Mr. Zelensky a “Dictator without Elections” in a post on his Truth Social account. This came after Mr. Trump falsely accused Ukraine of initiating the conflict. Deputy chairman of the Russian security council, Dmitri A. Medvedev, expressed his agreement with Mr. Trump’s stance on the Ukrainian leader, highlighting the alignment between Washington and Moscow.
This pattern of adopting questionable talking points from authoritarian leaders had been seen before in Mr. Trump’s interactions with other world leaders. He had previously echoed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s denial of involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, and expressed trust in North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s word regarding the treatment of Otto Warmbier. Mr. Trump’s close relationship with President Putin had also raised concerns, particularly after he publicly accepted Mr. Putin’s denial of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
During his second term, free from previous constraints, Mr. Trump embarked on a rapid reconciliation with Moscow, alarming European allies and Ukraine. He began to adopt the Kremlin’s anti-Ukrainian rhetoric, further raising concerns about the potential outcomes of his upcoming talks with President Putin.
The Kremlin’s efforts to delegitimize Mr. Zelensky and call for new elections were seen as part of a broader strategy to destabilize Ukraine and install a more Moscow-friendly leader. This false narrative about Mr. Zelensky’s legitimacy was seen as a key tool in Russia’s disinformation campaign aimed at undermining Ukraine as a state.
Despite the challenges posed by active warfare and the prohibition on elections during martial law, some Republican members of Congress supported Ukraine’s stance against holding elections before or during peace talks. They highlighted the irony of Mr. Putin’s demand for elections in Ukraine, considering his own actions to stay in power in Russia beyond his term limits.