Russian Deputy Who Voiced Failure Of War Goals In Ukraine May Be Deprived Of His Post

Consultations are already underway.

Konstantin Zatulin, the first deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, could be stripped of his post and expelled from United Russia after he said that Russia failed to achieve any of the goals of the war in Ukraine.

Consultations on this issue are already taking place in United Russia, and Vyacheslav Makarov, the first deputy head of the United Russia faction, is responsible for them, Vedomosti writes, citing two sources in the party and an interlocutor close to the presidential administration. The latter noted that it is too early to say what measures against Zatulin will be taken.

Many complaints have accumulated against Zatulin, the interlocutor in the United Russia faction notes. In particular, in 2021, he opposed the citizenship bill, which was introduced by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

However, according to another source, all consultations about Zatulin's speech may be limited to educational measures. “The leadership of the faction will talk to Zatulin so that he speaks more carefully in the future,” the source said.

According to The Moscow Times, on June 1 at the forum “What kind of Ukraine do we need?” Zatulin announced the failure of all the goals that Putin set before the start of a full-scale invasion. “What were our goals officially declared at the beginning of the military operation? You all remember: denazification, demilitarization, the neutrality of Ukraine and the protection of the inhabitants of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, who have suffered all this time. With regard to which of these items have we achieved results to date? Not one by now,” Zatulin said.

According to him, many of the goals have lost all meaning. “For example, the neutrality of Ukraine. What is the meaning of this requirement? None at the moment. It will not be neutral if it remains in existence,” the deputy noted. He also stressed that Russia will not be able to capture Ukraine because of its support from the West.

Zatulin himself told Vedomosti that no one contacted him about his statement. “Why can I lose my position in the committee or be expelled from the faction? The leadership of the faction did not tell me anything,” the deputy said.

At the same time, in his Telegram channel, the man accused those who pulled his words out of context. “I said that at the moment the goals of the military special operation <…> have not been achieved. Why did I say this? Then, just to say what needs to be done in order to achieve these goals,” said Zatulin.