Ukraine braces itself for disinformation attacks on Zelensky

Russia seeking to exploit doubts about his standing as his term is set to end

KYIV - The Ukrainian authorities are worried that President Volodymyr Zelensky is vulnerable to a Russian disinformation campaign that will seek to undermine his authority.

Kyiv is bracing itself for a Kremlin-sponsored narrative that will seek to exploit doubts about the President's standing in an effort to destabilise public trust, particularly among Ukrainian front-line troops, according to a person familiar with Mr Zelensky's thinking who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The issue comes at a delicate moment for the Ukrainian leader, whose once-unassailable popularity is slipping as the war enters a third year and Russian troops mount an offensive.

Officials in the country are concerned that the advances could gain momentum by the summer if allies do not scale up deliveries of ammunition, with stocks running low.

Central to the Kremlin's effort will be a bid to erode Mr Zelensky's democratic legitimacy in the eyes of the public as his five-year term comes to a close without a vote to seek re-election.

The Ukrainian leader has made clear that he anticipates the Kremlin to latch on to the issue, even as President Vladimir Putin in March stages an election whose outcome is tightly controlled by the Russian authorities to extend his nearly quarter-century rule.

"It's not an opinion held by Western partners or perhaps somebody inside Ukraine - but a narrative and programme of the Russian Federation," Mr Zelensky said earlier last week.