Ukrainian authorities to be replaced when no longer needed – Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin, before flying back home from Uzbekistan, spoke about the legitimate ruler in Ukraine. According to him, the only legitimate authority in Ukraine is the Verkhovna Rada and its speaker as per the Constitution.

Western leaders want the current Ukrainian authorities "to carry the burden of all unpopular decisions,” including lowering the conscription age, Putin said.

"The conscription age was 27, now it's 25, then they may make it 23 or even 18 straight. After making this and other unpopular decisions, they will replace representatives of the executive branch by those who had not had such responsibility on their shoulders, and that's it,” Putin said.

The Russian President also spoke about the legitimacy of power in Ukraine. According to him, the country's Constitution provides for the extension of the powers of only the Rada (the Parliament). The Constitution does not mention the extension of the powers of the president.

"They do not hold presidential elections under martial law, but this does not mean that the powers can be extended. There is Article 111 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which says that the powers of the supreme authorities, actually presidential powers, shall be transferred to the speaker of parliament,” Putin noted.

He also added that if they wanted to hold elections in Ukraine, they could cancel martial law, "that's all.”

The presidential election in Ukraine was supposed to take place on March 31. Zelensky's term expired on May 20, but the presidential election in the country were not announced.

Zelensky announced the continuation of his term in office himself. He said that five years of his service were not over yet.