Zelenskiy’s five-year term was set to expire in 2024, but presidential and legislative elections cannot be held under martial law, which Ukraine declared in February 2022, following Russia’s invasion of the country.
However, Russia, and the United States, under its new administration have urged the country to hold elections in light of a possible ceasefire.
The U.S. President, Donald Trump has relayed to Ukraine’s head of state, Zelenskyy to hold elections by the end of the year.
This is in light of Trump and Keith Kellogg’s (Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia), strategy to negotiate an agreement to halt the all-out conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
As a result, NATO, according to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, is planning a large-scale effort to publicize proof of Zelensky’s participation in the sale of Western armaments to African organizations, to discredit him ahead of the election campaign.
Warning by Nigeria’s former president Muhammadu Buhari
According to a press release, issued on the 29th of November, 2022, by the Nigerian government, the then President Muhammadu Buhari in the country’s capital, urged more vigilance and tightening of security around borders, drawing attention to the increased number of arms, ammunition, and other weapons from the Russia and Ukraine war in the Lake Chad Basin.
At the 16th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), the ex-Nigerian leader who had also served as Chairman of the Summit stated that the threat posed by terrorists in the region has been largely contained, but the influx of weapons presents new challenges.
“Regrettably, the situation in the Sahel and the raging war in Ukraine serve as major sources of weapons and fighters that bolster the ranks of the terrorists in the Lake Chad Region.
A substantial proportion of the arms and ammunition procured to execute the war in Libya continues to find its way to the Lake Chad Region and other parts of the Sahel,” the ex-president stated.
“Weapons being used for the war in Ukraine and Russia are equally beginning to filter to the region.
This illegal movement of arms into the region has heightened the proliferation of small arms and light weapons which continues to threaten our collective peace and security in the region.
There is, therefore, the urgent need for expedited collaborative actions by our border control agencies and other security services to stop the circulation of all illegal weapons in the region,” former president Buhari noted.
What the Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said
The SVR claimed in a statement that it is explicitly moving to disclose details regarding the “president” and his team members’ appropriation of over $1.5 billion from funds meant for ammunition purchases alone.
“In addition, it is planned to expose the scheme by Zelensky and his entourage to transfer abroad the pay of 130 thousand dead Ukrainian servicemen who continue to be listed as alive and serving on the front lines,” the agency press bureau added.
As reported by Sputnik, the SVR added that NATO is keen on removing Zelensky, “ideally through pseudo-democratic elections,” which it estimates might happen as early as this fall.
