"Very soon, the moment will come when many people, including in Ukraine, will question his [Zelensky's] legitimacy. In any case, even from the legal point of view, it will have to be done. And he will have to justify himself somehow," Peskov told Rossiya 1 reporter Pavel Zarubin.
When asked to comment on the remarks of the Ukrainian president, who assessed the new weapons supply to Kiev as a good deal enabling Ukrainians to fight for themselves, the Kremlin spokesman called Zelensky the "specific president of the specific regime."
"Ukraine does not spare its own citizens. And this is a tragedy for the people, a tragedy for the country. First, they infected their country with all sorts of nationalist manifestations, and now they no longer shun anything: they do not hesitate to throw new thousands and thousands of people into the furnace of this war," Peskov added.
He also expressed the belief that Russia would achieve victory in the special military operation, as the dynamics of the situation on the front were showing that the "outcome is predetermined."
Ukraine was due to hold a presidential election on March 31, but it was called off due to martial law and general mobilization. Zelensky, who was sworn into office in May 2019, said it was "not the right time" for elections.
Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, in response to calls by the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics. Moscow said the operation, which targets Ukrainian military infrastructure, aims to "demilitarize and denazify" Ukraine and completely liberate Donbass. Western nations have imposed numerous sanctions on Russia and have been supplying weapons to Ukraine.