The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service is spreading a statement about the alleged US preparations for holding elections in Ukraine with the aim of removing Volodymyr Zelenskyi, which is part of a large-scale information campaign against the Ukrainian government. This message, launched back in November 2023, has been reinforced since the spring of 2024 by fakes about the West's plans to remove Zelenskyi from power. This is reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security.

Such disinformation messages are part of the operation Maidan-3, aimed at destabilizing the political situation in Ukraine, in particular by discrediting the initiatives of the President of Ukraine, such as the Peace Formula and the Victory Plan. In light of these manipulations, the Ukrainian authorities have also repeatedly explained the legal impossibility of holding elections during martial law, refuting speculations about a change of power through foreign influence. The goal of this approach is to create the illusion of an alleged loss of support for Ukraine from Western partners, focusing on false claims about the “unrealistic” nature of Ukrainian peace initiatives.

The purpose of spreading this fake is to try to undermine Ukrainians' trust in President Zelenskyi and discredit him in the eyes of the international community. It also aims to sow doubts among Ukrainians about the stability of their government and relations with international partners.