Does Putin want to get rid of Zelensky?
Zelensky was reportedly a target from the beginning of the conflict, and Putin has long desired to remove Ukraine's elected pro-Western president.
Soon after the invasion, Russian troops allegedly attempted to breach the presidential compound twice, and the elected leader of Ukraine declared that they wanted him dead.I am the enemy's top target, followed by my family.By assassinating the head of state, they hope to politically destroy Ukraine.
Zelensky then claimed that Putin had first attempted to replace him with Viktor Medvedchuk, the wealthy leader of a pro-Russian party who is currently in Russia after being charged with treason in Ukraine.
Putin's officials refer to Zelensky as a "failure" and a "clown," and he has yet to agree to hold peace negotiations with him. He has discussed the "illegitimacy" of the Ukrainian leader, a myth that Trump has also propagated.
Putin uses the postponement of Ukraine's March 2024 presidential election as proof, despite the fact that elections are prohibited by the constitution and martial law is in place in Ukraine due to Russia's conflict.
Since Russia's opposition leaders are either dead or in exile, Putin's own reelection in 2024 is quite doubtful.
Was the war caused by NATO expansion?
Putin views any chance of Ukraine joining NATO as a serious red line and has long lamented the alliance's eastward expansion as a security danger.
He insisted that NATO withdraw its multinational forces from Central and Eastern European nations that joined the Western alliance after 1997, prior to Russia's 2022 invasion.
However, Russia was the first to use force in Eastern Europe, invading Georgia in 2008 and Crimea in 2014.
NATO maintained a constant presence on its eastern flank, which is closest to Russia, following the invasion of Crimea.
NATO has consistently emphasized that defending areas "with no aggressive intentions" is the alliance's primary goal. Following the invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland joined NATO specifically due to the perceived danger posed by Russia.
Ukraine's constitution calls for it to join NATO and the European Union, but when the full-scale conflict broke out, there was little chance of this happening.
