This is a deliberate distortion of facts aiming to undermine the legitimacy of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a frequent target of pro-Kremlin disinformation. This disinformation story claims that president Zelenskyy ‘cancelled the election’ to suggest a power-grabbing maneuver. However, this disingenuous formulation is not true, as a call for new elections actually never took place due to the ongoing war. Ukraine’s constitution is straightforward: no elections can be held during wartime and the President of Ukraine exercises his powers until the assumption of office by the newly-elected President. The continuity of government institutions is one of the key principles of the Constitution.

This is a distortion of actual facts, aiming to undermine Ukraine by accusing it of being linked to acts of international terrorism. Pro-Kremlin outlets have exploited the attack against Slovak president Robert Fico as part of a wider disinformation campaign. The allegation about ‘Slovak media’ is massively exaggerated, as only two sources are provided to back it, both of which are op-eds from well-known pro-Russian commentators, and one of them is an openly pro-Russian, conspiracist-prone site. There is nothing indicating any possible Ukrainian link to the attack. Existing evidence so far shows that the suspected perpetrator, a man identified as Juraj Cintula who was arrested on the spot, may belong to the far-right milieu and may have acted for ideological reasons.