Little Churchill to Rule in Perpetuity
Martialing the troops for automatic autocracy
Published: 2024-05-22
Updated 2024-05-26: Noted that neither Russia nor Belarus recognize Zelensky as Ukraine’s president any more. See Update and Dima’s video. Dima also believes that Ukraine are attacking Russia’s strategic (nuclear) defense radars, which is an insane action by NATO.
Ukraine
On the English language page of the Ukrainian government domain's website for its president, on May 21st 2024 the day after former president Zelensky's term ended, remains published a news item. A screenshot of it was used for this article's lead graphic. It begins:
Dear Ukrainians!
Today, I continued our diplomatic marathon – the marathon of preparations for the Global Peace Summit, a gathering of many leaders aimed at implementing the Peace Formula that can force Russia into a just peace. Today I spoke with the leaders of Romania, Angola, and Iraq. ...
Below the text is embedded a video published at Youtube with the following metadata:
"Address of President 21.05.24", Office of the President of Ukraine, 2024-05-21
[video id] SM6ETIYjx_Q
The text of the article clearly displays Volodymyr Zelenskyy acting as the President of Ukraine, both in the nature of the publication and the actions it documents that he has undertaken speaking with diplomatic representatives of three foreign nations.
Western Media Out To Lunch
In Western media outlets the narrative being delivered to cover Zelenskyy's continued occupation of the Office of the President in Ukraine is that his popularity has "inevitably waned" following its high after the "full-scale" beginning of Russia's Special Military Operation.
But he will stay in office as the ongoing war with Ukraine has delayed elections in the country …
… an election would have been called ... but the martial law brought in with Russia’s full-scale [SMO] means that can’t happen.
The BBC is running similar, sympathetic dribble.
“Russia prevented Ukraine being a democracy” is the narrative's slight of hand.
Reuters' "exclusive" interview with Volodymyr on his final official day in office is rendered in bold headlines addressing the war, and even U.S. elections, with not a mention of a transition of power even though Zelenskyy's end of term was commonly known.
ON THE BATTLEFIELD
ON KHARKIV OFFENSIVE
ON WESTERN MILITARY SUPPORT
ON WESTERN WARPLANES INTERCEPTING RUSSIAN MISSILES OVER UKRAINE
ON UKRAINIAN-MADE LONG-RANGE DRONE STRIKES
ON WESTERN FEARS OF MILITARY ESCALATION WITH RUSSIA
ON PEACE SUMMIT [not bold]
ON INDEPENDENT UKRAINE
ON U.S. ELECTIONS
ON F-16S
Matters Consitutional
A cursory reading of the Constitution of Ukraine does not yield a clause describing a president's refusal to leave office. In the event of the lack of a president, the head of the next highest body of executive authority is to act as the president, though with some limitation, until an election is held (Chapter V, Article 112). That body is the Council of Ministers and its head is the Prime Minister. The current Prime Minister of Ukraine is Denys Shmyhal.
The only article on a transition of power which this author could find in Western media was by Deutche Welle.
"The president does not automatically lose his powers five years after inauguration. These powers are only removed when the newly elected president takes office, i.e., after elections." [Andriy Mahera, of the Center of Policy and Legal Reform in Kyiv.]
Mahera is referring to Article 108 of the Ukraine Constitution which reads (in official English translation):
The President of Ukraine exercises his or her powers until the assumption of office by the newly-elected President of Ukraine.
This implies that expired President Zelenskyy can remain in power until elections are held, and if assertions that martial law curtail the holding of elections and that this decree is issued by the president, then Ukraine is not a democracy. Once an elected President declares martial law, preventing elections, he or she legally remains in power in perpetuity. A consequence is that the only way for an electorate to stop a president pursuing a war which the people no longer support is a revolution, or a coup. I'll put my money on that being the mechanism by which dictator Zelenskyy is removed.
This is the "democracy" which the US and NATO are using tax payer funds to supply arms to "defend". The democracy they’re defending is an autocracy, flipping the script of their own war narrative.
This also explains why the constitutional lack of democracy in Ukraine is not being discussed in Western media (with the exception of Deutche Welle, and hats off to them for their tiny effort).
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, Medvedev described Zelenskyy's position with:
He spat on the Constitution of his 'country,' ignored the Constitutional Court, and did not even extend, but usurped the supreme power. He covered himself with an inarticulate declaration of the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament - TASS) on the abolition of presidential election in times of war,
Should a stable government return to Ukraine it will be interesting to see what its constitutional court has to say on the matter.
On The Same Day in Astana
Meanwhile over in the old Khazak capital, Astana, their chairing of the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) is being appreciated as the road to the multipolar world continues being laid.
Update
Dima from Military Summary notes based on public statements from the meeting between Russia and Belarus in Minsk that neither country recognizes Zelensky as the President of Ukraine and wish to know with whom they can negotiate and sign documents. Ukrainian President Lukashenka also stated that there are enough military and civilian Ukrainians who want to leave the country to supports their view that Zelensky is illegitimate.
He also includes a Ukrainian attack on a facility in southern Russia (away from the Ukrainian conflict) on what a pro-Ukrainian commentator described as Russian strategic (nuclear) defense radar facilities. If true this is an insane escalation by Ukraine using NATO weaponry and NATO intelligence.
Annex
The introduction and state of martial law as defined in the Ukraine constitution:
Article 92
The following are determined exclusively by the laws of Ukraine:
…
19) the legal regime of martial law and a state of emergency, zones of an ecological emergency situation;
…
Article 106
The President of Ukraine:
…
20) adopts a decision in accordance with the law on the general or partial mobilisation and the introduction of martial law in Ukraine or in its particular areas, in the event of a threat of aggression, danger to the state independence of Ukraine;
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Sources
All the Partners are Fully Informed about Our Actual Needs and the Real Situation on the Front – Address by the President, Ukrainian President [with picture of Zelenskyy], 2024-05-21
War and popularity keep Zelensky in power despite term expiring, James Waterhouse (in Ukraine), BBC, 2024-05-21
Zelensky's term as Ukraine President ends tomorrow. What happens next?, staff, Firstpost, 2024-05-19
Ukraine President Zelenskiy speaks to Reuters in exclusive interview, (compiled by) Hugh Lawson, Reuters, 2024-05-21 [https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-president-zelenskiy-speaks-reuters-exclusive-interview-2024-05-20/]
Note: the archive linked version differs from later edits of the article. The list of bolded ALL CAPS topics listed above is from the version seen by the author approximately 8 hours before publication.
CONSTITUTION OF UKRAINE [of 1996-06-28], Council of Europe
"Official English translation.
The only authentic text is the text in the state language of Ukraine."
Volodymyr Zelensky’s five-year term ends on May 20th, The Economist, 2024-05-16 [https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/05/16/volodymyr-zelenskys-five-year-term-ends-on-may-20th]
Denys Shmyhal, Wikipedia
Zelensky usurps power in Ukraine, Medvedev says, TASS, 2024-05-20
Can Ukraine's Zelenskyy stay in power without an election?, Igor Burdyga, Deutche Welle, 2024-05-19
Over 20 decisions adopted at SCO Foreign Ministers' meeting — secretary-general, TASS, 2024-05-21
The Bloom ｜ NATO Raises The Stakes ｜ Coup In Ukraine. Military Summary And Analysis For 2024.05.24, Dima, Military Summary, 2024-05-24
video also contains a Ukrainian soldier driving a Ukrainian tank to the line of contact to surrender with the tank (!), and
an insane rapid drive by a Russian armored personnel carrier across a large distance in open fields to then capture a remote Ukrainian position.
Copyleft: CC0
They didn’t discuss they sponsored a coup in Kiev a decade ago.
They didn’t discuss they were sponsoring neonazi paramilitary death squads in eastern Ukraine for years now.
They don’t discuss they are arming Nazis in official Ukrainian army now.
So no they obviously are not going to admit that Ukraine isn’t a democracy and that democracy was never the issue.
We should ask the US “ National Endowment for Democracy” when they will sponsor dissidents in Ukraine demanding and end to martial law and immediate free and fair elections !