Putin says Ukraine's parliamentary speaker is now de facto country leader

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has said that in light of the fact that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s five-year term has come to an end and Ukraine has failed to hold presidential elections, power in Ukraine should be transferred to the parliament and its head, Ruslan Stefanchuk. Putin cited the distorted content of one of the articles of the Ukrainian Constitution as proof.

Source: Vladimir Putin in a comment to journalists in Tashkent

Details: Putin said that this was his "preliminary assessment" and that an "in-depth analysis is needed".

Still, Putin asserted that the Constitution of Ukraine provides for the extension of the powers of the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) and its Speaker only, and that it allegedly says nothing about the extension of the president’s powers. Putin referred to Art. 111 of the Constitution of Ukraine to back up his claim.

On the other hand, Putin said, the Ukrainian Constitution prohibits holding presidential elections under martial law. "But this does not mean that they [the presidential powers] are prolonged. And this is a problem," he said.

Quote: "There is Article 111 in the Constitution of Ukraine which says that in this case [i.e., in the event that presidential elections are not held], the supreme power, the presidential powers, are transferred to the speaker of the parliament."

Details: In reality, however, Art. 111 of the Constitution of Ukraine says something quite different and reads as follows: "The President of Ukraine may be removed from office by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine by impeachment in the event of high treason or other crime."

Meanwhile, Art. 112 of the Constitution of Ukraine says the following: "In the event of early termination of the powers of the President of Ukraine [...] the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine shall perform the duties of the President of Ukraine for the period until the election and assumption of office of the new President of Ukraine."

The Constitution also stipulates that "The President of Ukraine shall exercise their powers until the newly elected President of Ukraine takes office. The powers of the President of Ukraine shall be terminated early in the event of:

1. Resignation;
2. Inability to perform their duties due to the state of their health;
3. Impeachment and subsequent removal from office;
4. Death."

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