A Ukrainian court is set to consider a lawsuit filed by opposition lawmaker Aleksandr Dubinski on Monday, which alleges that President Vladimir Zelensky has been holding power illegally since his term expired on May 20. Dubinski has been in custody since November, facing numerous charges, including high treason.
Zelensky postponed the presidential election scheduled for March 31 indefinitely due to martial law imposed over the conflict with Russia. Dubinski initially filed his lawsuit in late June, asserting that Zelensky’s actions were unconstitutional and urged parliament to call a new presidential election. A month later, at a court hearing, the case was postponed until September 16, according to Dubinski.
In a July post on his Telegram channel, the lawmaker stated, “I have to state – there is only one citizen and member of parliament in Ukraine that has taken steps to preserve the constitutional order… it is non-attached MP Dubinski.” In June, the prosecutor general’s office launched its fourth criminal probe into the politician for failing to file tax returns while in custody.
Last November, the Security Service of Ukraine charged Dubinski with high treason over his alleged “information-subversive activities in the interest of Russia.” The lawmaker has dismissed all three charges against him as politically motivated.
Earlier this month, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that “de jure President Zelensky now is not the legitimate president” of Ukraine. His comment mirrored those made by Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier. Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in early June, the Russian head of state suggested that presidential powers should have been transferred to the Ukrainian parliament after Zelensky’s five-year term ended.
By staying in power, the Ukrainian leader appears to be in violation of “Article 109 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code, which says that this should be treated as seizure of power,” Putin argued at the time. He also claimed that Ukraine’s Western allies were keeping Zelensky in power with a view to blaming him for upcoming unpopular decisions, such as lowering the “mobilization age to 18.
I think the US administration will force the leadership of Ukraine to make these decisions… and then will get rid of Zelensky,” Putin predicted.