President Volodymyr Zelensky said in remarks made public Sunday that holding elections while Ukraine fights Russia would be too dangerous for the country and would "destroy" it. The comments came after his former defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, called days earlier for a vote to be organized.
Ukraine has suspended elections under martial law, a suspension that remains widely popular as the country battles the Russian invasion launched in 2022. "I believe that in a war like this, elections as such are a huge risk. Elections right now are a tsunami for the country that will split Ukraine," Zelensky said in a Saturday briefing with journalists. "If we want to destroy the country, then we can move in the direction of elections during these times of war," he added.
Kyiv has been roiled by political turmoil since summer when Zelensky fired Fedorov, the popular defence minister. Thousands protested demanding Fedorov's reinstatement, and his attacks on military leadership forced Zelensky to remove his commander-in-chief. Fedorov's subsequent call to organize elections, while stopping short of explicitly stating he would challenge Zelensky, appeared to distance even some of his supporters. "I believe he is going himself – or is being pushed – toward wrong things," Zelensky said of Fedorov during the briefing.
Experts have cited numerous obstacles to holding elections, including how soldiers, millions of Ukrainian refugees and residents of occupied territories would vote, alongside risks of Russian interference and attacks. Only 15 percent of Ukrainians believe elections should be held before hostilities end, according to an opinion poll. Zelensky remains largely popular despite mounting domestic criticism as the war continues.
Fedorov's team confirmed to AFP on Sunday that he plans to visit the United States soon, a trip likely to revive speculation about whether he is positioning himself as a political rival. Meanwhile, civilian deaths have surged to their highest level since the early months of the invasion as Russian strikes intensify, according to verified United Nations statistics. Ukraine will host a meeting Monday with its European allies to discuss pressuring Russia to end the war.
