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Three years ago, support for members of a Ukrainian political party that advocated closer ties with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia plunged to near zero after Russian forces invaded Ukraine, flattening whole cities and killing tens of thousands of Ukrainians.<\/p>\n
The party, called the Opposition Platform for Life, was banned, some members went to jail on charges of treason, and others fled Ukraine. A few former members banded together in a new faction and still sit in Parliament, but have generally kept quiet since the Russian invasion.<\/p>\n
Now some of those pro-Russian politicians are attempting an unlikely comeback, inspired by President Trump\u2019s attacks on Ukraine\u2019s current leadership and Russian demands, echoed by Mr. Trump, that the country hold elections.<\/p>\n
The politicians are posting widely viewed videos on social media in which they have promoted themselves as future candidates; criticized President Volodymyr Zelensky and his government; and praised Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The efforts are unlikely to gain much traction in a country that remains overwhelmingly hostile to Russia and the people who have supported it. But analysts say the videos, which are rife with misinformation, could nonetheless stoke divisions at a time when Ukraine\u2019s unity and its leaders are under threat from a hostile Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n
Oleksandr Dubinsky, a former member of Parliament, has produced videos promoting what he calls a pro-Trump and pro-peace agenda from prison, where is he serving time for treason. His videos place blame Ukraine\u2019s leaders for the war, saying they are committing genocide against the Ukrainian people, an echo of Russian propaganda.<\/p>\n
Since November, when Mr. Trump was elected to a second term, the audience for Mr. Dubinsky\u2019s jailhouse videos on TikTok has grown from about forty thousand to nearly 1.6 million views.<\/p>\n
On Feb. 20, two days after Mr. Trump called Mr. Zelensky a \u201cdictator,\u201d Mr. Dubinsky announced that he would run for president if an election were held. Ukraine was in danger of falling into a \u201cnew form of dictatorship,\u201d Mr. Dubinsky said, accusing Mr. Zelensky of forcing his most prominent potential challengers to renounce running for election.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
A former head of the Opposition Platform for Life, Yuriy Boyko, had no activity on social media until early December, when he started posting videos from a newly opened TikTok account. In the videos, he blames \u201cUkrainian radicals\u201d for laws sidelining Russian language in public spaces, a theme that has long been voiced by Mr. Putin.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The pro-Russian politicians appear to have at least some support within the Trump administration. In 2023, Tulsi Gabbard, who is now serving as the national intelligence director, criticized the banning of Opposition Platform for Life, saying that Mr. Zelensky had \u201coutlawed opposition political parties.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, other opposition parties have been operating freely in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
The term \u201cpro-Russian\u201d in Ukrainian politics is generally applied to figures linked to the country\u2019s former Russian-aligned president, Viktor F. Yanukovych, who fled to Moscow after a street uprising in 2014. Former members of Opposition Platform for Life who were once affiliated with Mr. Yanukovych, still hold about two dozen seats in Parliament.<\/p>\n
Political analysts say the pro-Russia politicians had seen an opening provided by the demands for an election by Moscow to destabilize Ukraine from within.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe role of pro-Russian politicians is to introduce divisive topics into society,\u201d said Oleh Saakyan, a political analyst at the National Platform for Resilience and Social Cohesion, an independent think tank. \u201cThey aim to create divisions between groups like veterans and nonveterans, refugees and those who stayed in Ukraine, and pit them against each other.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Russia has proposed a three-stage plan for ending the war that would center on the holding of elections in Ukraine. Under the plan, which emerged after a high-profile meeting in Saudi Arabia this month between U.S. and Russian officials, there first would be a temporary cease-fire, followed by elections in Ukraine, and then peace talks with a newly elected president. Ukraine was due to hold a presidential election in early 2024, but the government and civil society groups have agreed that it is impossible to hold an election at a time of war.<\/p>\n
Most Ukrainian politicians and analysts say they believe Russia is trying to stir political infighting in Ukraine to distract from the defense of the country, and that Moscow would use the time to regroup and build up forces for renewed combat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen elections cannot be held according to democratic standards, they become a tool in Russia\u2019s hands to attack democracy instead of supporting it,\u201d Mr. Saakyan said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n