Three years ago, after Russian Ukrainian forces invaded Ukraine, flattening the entire city and killing tens of thousands of Ukrainians, there was close to zero support for members of Ukrainian political parties who advocated for close ties with Russian President Putin.
The party, known as the opposition platform for the opposition, was banned, with some members in prison for treason and others fled Ukraine. Several former members united in new factions and still sat in Parliament, but have generally remained quiet since the Russian invasion.
Now, some of these pro-Russian politicians are thinking of hosting the election, inspired by Trump's attacks on the current leader of the Ukrainian president and Russia's demands.
Politicians post widely viewed videos on social media that promoted themselves as a future candidate. He criticized President Volodymyr Zelensky and his government. He praised Trump.
This effort is unlikely to gain much traction in a country that remains overwhelmingly hostile to Russia and its supporters. But analysts say the misinformation-filled video could blow up the division when Ukrainian unity and its leaders are under threat from hostile Trump.
Former Congressman Oleksandr Dubinsky produced a video to promote what he calls the pro-trump and parental agenda from prison. His video blames Ukrainian leaders for the war, saying they are committing genocide against the people of Ukrainians, an echo of Russian propaganda.
Since November when Trump was elected for a second term, Dubinsky's prison video audience on Tiktok has grown from around 40,000 to 1.6 million viewers.
On February 20, two days after Trump called Zelensky a “dictator,” Dubinsky announced he would run for president if elections were held. Ukraine was at risk of falling into a “new form of dictatorship,” Dubinsky said he accused Zelensky of forcing his most notable potential challenger to run for elections.
Yuriy Boyko, former head of Rectition Platform for Life, did not work on social media until she began posting videos from her newly opened Tiktok account in early December. In the video, he condemns the “Ukrainian extremists” of laws that bystander Russian in public spaces.
Russian politicians appear to have at least some support within the Trump administration. In 2023, Tarshi Gabbard, now Director of the National Intelligence, criticized the ban on opposition platforms for life, saying Zelensky “banned opposition parties.”
However, other opposition parties are free to operate in Ukraine.
The term “pro-Russia” in Ukrainian politics generally applies to figures related to Victor F. Janukovich, a former president of the Russian Alliance who fled to Moscow after the 2014 street uprising.
Politicians in pro-Russia have seen the opening provided by Moscow's election demand to destabilize Ukraine from within.
“The role of pro-Lucia's politicians is to introduce divisive topics into society,” said Ole Surcan, political analyst for an independent think tank, a national platform for resilience and social cohesion. “They aim to create divisions between groups such as veterans, non-Betalans, refugees, and those who stayed in Ukraine, and oppose each other.”
Russia appears to support a three-stage plan to end the war, centering on holding elections in Ukraine. Under the plan that emerged after a famous meeting in Saudi Arabia this month between us and the Russian authorities, there was a temporary ceasefire at first, followed by elections in Ukraine, followed by a peace agreement with the newly elected president.
Ukraine was scheduled to hold a presidential election in early 2024, but government and civil society groups agree that it is impossible to hold elections at the time of war.
Most Ukrainian politicians and analysts believe that Russia is trying to distract itself from the country's defense by engaging in political civil wars in Ukraine, and that Moscow will use this time to reorganize and build an army for new combat.
“When elections cannot be held according to democratic standards, they will become a tool in the hands of Russia to attack democracy instead of supporting it,” Saakyan said.
Alina Tropynina, senior editor at Vox Ukraine, who monitors social media, said Russian politicians were reinforcing social media posts that are denounced Zelensky of the war, in response to Moscow's latest plans.
“Ukraine is beginning a war, and it seems like it's solely dependent on Ukraine for its end.
Artem Dmytruk, a pro-Lucia politician in exile in London, accused Ukrainian authorities of intentionally extending the war, claiming that they have benefited financially from the conflict and are hampering peace negotiations.
Dubinski, who describes himself as a Trumpist on his social media accounts, posts multiple daily updates that praise Trump and question Zelensky's legitimacy.
On January 6, Boyko posted a video to Tiktok, who plays the famous Ukrainian Christmas tune “Carol of the Bell” on piano, wishing peace for viewers.
Timing was important – posted on the same day that the Russian Orthodox Church celebrated Christmas Eve, but the Ukrainian Church switched to celebrate Christmas on December 25th in 2023 along with most of Western Europe.
Other Ukrainian politicians who are not in line with Russia have also regularly criticised the government and said they want to take power on their own.
Dmytro Razumkov, a politician who broke with Zelensky in 2021 and currently leads the opposition in Congress, said he would run for president if elections were held.
“I'm always on board and always take part in elections in some way,” he said.
But opposition politicians also say they are not suited for new elections.
“I think elections are already necessary, but not during a hot war,” said Andriy Osaduchuk, a member of the parliament of the opposition Horos Party.
Natalia Novosorova and Andrew E. Kramer Reports of contributions.
