Elections before May 15: who is spreading rumors and why

Western media reports that Ukraine is allegedly preparing for presidential elections and a referendum under pressure from the Donald Trump administration are an information operation. The scenario according to which Kyiv should announce these processes by the anniversary of the full-scale invasion seems illogical and devoid of the instinct of self-preservation.

This opinion was expressed on the air of “Pryamoy” by political scientist Oleg Sahakyan.

“This is a throw-in. I can’t imagine what kind of drinking binge something like this could have happened and how much it would have taken to lose the instinct of self-preservation and everything else,” he noted, commenting on the likelihood of announcing elections on the anniversary of the full-scale invasion.

The analyst suggests that such information leaks have two versions of origin. The first concerns the American side’s attempts to test the reaction of the Ukrainian authorities and force them to make political changes without a real ceasefire. The second version indicates a strategy of Ukraine itself or its allies, which seek to identify and eliminate potentially dangerous scenarios in advance, making them public and illogical.

According to Sahakyan, the situation around February 24 looks particularly controversial, as using such a tragic date for political announcements makes no sense for society. Currently, official Kyiv denies any knowledge of such plans, focusing exclusively on security issues, the political scientist added.

As a reminder, Western media outlets previously reported on the US demand to hold elections in Ukraine by May 15. Moreover, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky allegedly plans to announce presidential elections and a referendum on the peace agreement on February 24. However, sources on Bankova denied this information.

At the same time, reports by foreign media about US demands to hold elections by May 15 may turn out to be an information injection and a tool to test the mood of Ukrainians . People’s Deputy from “European Solidarity” Maria Ionova noted on the air of “Pryamoy” that the real situation in the legislative body looks much more restrained than it is presented in the headlines of foreign publications.

Meanwhile, more than 55% of Ukrainians are against holding elections before the end of the war , according to a survey conducted by New Image Marketing Group. The idea of holding elections before the end of the war is generally approved by 36.5%: of these, 19% completely support it and 17.5% rather support it. Overall, 55.5% are against it: 28.5% completely do not support it, and 27% rather support it. 8% could not answer.

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