Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said holding elections while Russia's invasion continues could break apart the country, ruling out a vote under current conditions.
Speaking to journalists, Zelensky said Ukraine had faced pressure from various sides to hold elections about a year ago. He said his position had been clear: if partners put forward concrete conditions under which elections could be held safely, legitimately and democratically, including the participation of soldiers, people in front-line territories and the millions of Ukrainians who fled abroad during the war, then he would be ready to discuss it. He said no one had ever presented such concrete proposals.
Why Zelensky says a vote is impossible now
Zelensky said elections could not go ahead under present conditions, pointing to Russian President Vladimir Putin's refusal to accept any option for a ceasefire.
He said elections in the middle of such a war carried major risks, describing a vote held right now as something that would act like a tsunami for the state and split Ukraine apart. He said his strategy was to lead the country through to the end of the war while preserving an independent and sovereign state, and that he was carrying out that strategy.
Zelensky's comments on Mykhailo Fedorov
The president also addressed his relationship with Mykhailo Fedorov, described in the report as a former defence minister, who had recently called for elections to be held during the war. Zelensky said he had a very positive attitude toward Fedorov, both in the past and now, but suggested Fedorov was either choosing, or being pushed, toward the wrong positions.
Fedorov recorded a video address on 18 August calling for elections to be held during the war. He said democracy could not be held hostage by Russia, and that Ukraine needed to find a legal, safe and realistic mechanism to restore a full democratic process even amid a prolonged war. He said this would require guaranteeing voting rights for soldiers, for millions of Ukrainians abroad and for people in front-line regions, as well as ensuring the security of the electoral process, the independence of institutions and public trust in the result.
Term limits and martial law
April 2026 marked seven years since Zelensky took office, exceeding Ukraine's maximum five-year presidential term. Elections have been barred under martial law, which Ukraine declared on 24 February 2022.
The United States, including President Donald Trump, has repeatedly raised the question of holding elections in Ukraine.
Security concerns and Kremlin narrative
Kyiv has said security remains the key condition for holding elections, as Ukraine continues to face almost daily Russian shelling.
In February, the Institute for the Study of War said the Kremlin continued to raise the issue of future Ukrainian elections to promote its false claim that the current Ukrainian government is illegitimate, while pressing for means to control Ukraine's politics. The institute's analysts said the Kremlin continued to signal it would reject any election result that did not produce a pro-Russian government in Ukraine.
