Zelensky says Russian elections illegitimate ‘imitation’

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to rule forever and that Russia’s presidential election was an illegitimate imitation.

Zelensky said in his nightly video address that “the Russian dictator is simulating another election,” and that Putin was “sick for power and is doing everything to rule forever.” “There is no legitimacy in this imitation of elections and there cannot be. This person should be on trial in The Hague. That’s what we have to ensure,” he added.

Meanwhile, Ukraine launched 35 drones at targets across Russia that sparked a brief fire at an oil refinery, took aim at Moscow and disrupted electricity supplies in border areas, Russia said on Sunday, the last day of its presidential election.

Moscow has accused Kyiv of election sabotage with days of strikes on Russian infrastructure, one of the most sweeping air operations on Russian territory since President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of neighbouring Ukraine two years ago.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked his military forces and intelligence for new “long-range capabilities” in his nightly video address on Saturday, without mentioning the reported intensified attacks by his nation’s forces.