Ukraine elections crucial but dependent on war end and lifting of martial law – Zelensky
Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine
Elections in Ukraine are crucial, but they can only be held after the end of the hot phase of the war and the lifting of martial law.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan.
"The elections will be held after the end of the hot phase of the war and the lifting of martial law. We are defending democracy, and the elections are crucial. But let's be frank: ending martial law now is exactly what Putin wants," the Ukrainian leader emphasized.
Zelensky explained what would happen if martial law was lifted: most Ukrainian army would return home because this is their legal right.
"But who will then defend Ukraine? Without security guarantees, Russia will invade again," the president is convinced.
President Zelensky highlighted his legitimacy, noting that 73% of Ukrainians elected him.
The president also stated that he "has always supported elections." At the same time, the president emphasized that elections during wartime require constitutional changes and serious legal amendments.
"The key issue concerns legal aspects and the human factor. How will soldiers vote in the trenches? What about the millions of Ukrainians in the occupied territories? Do their votes no longer matter? What about the 8 million Ukrainians who ended up abroad because of the war?" Zelensky concluded.
In addition, during the interview, Zelensky was asked whether he could sit at the same table with Putin if a potential peace process involving four groups were to begin.
Zelensky stated he is prepared to take this step if it is the only option to achieve peace for Ukraine's citizens and prevent further loss of life.
"We will certainly pursue this option for a meeting with the four participants. My personal feelings towards him don't matter—I won't be kind to him and view him as an enemy. Frankly, I believe he sees me as an enemy too. That's it," Zelensky said.
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The President previously emphasized that holding elections soon would divert the attention of Ukrainians and the international community from the primary goal of restoring peace. Furthermore, organizing elections amid ongoing hostilities is challenging and contradicts legal provisions.
In addition, in November 2023, all political forces in the Verkhovna Rada signed a memorandum stating that the next elections would be held only after the end of martial law.
Ukrainians also disagree with the idea of holding elections during a full-scale war. According to a poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, most Ukrainians (69%) believe that the head of state, Volodymyr Zelensky, should serve as president until the end of martial law.
At the same time, it is not the first time that Putin and his representatives have made statements in which Russia is portrayed as ready for negotiations to resolve the war in Ukraine, which are not taking place because Kyiv allegedly does not want them.
In fact, Putin is demanding that Kyiv refuse to join NATO and internationally recognize the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson regions, and Crimea as Russian territories.
On January 29, Putin said that he was ready to "allocate people" for negotiations with Ukraine to end the war, but he called the negotiations themselves "illegitimate." In response, Zelensky said that with such statements, Putin only confirmed that he was afraid of negotiations and was trying to drag out the war. According to the head of state, Russia is doing everything to either continue a full-scale invasion instead of real peace or to get a pause to prepare a new aggression.
Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that a diplomatic resolution to the war necessitates a robust plan for a just peace and a strong negotiating position for Ukraine. He warned that excluding Kyiv from negotiations between the United States and Russia concerning the war in Ukraine poses a "hazardous" scenario. He insisted that not only the United States and Russia but also Ukraine and the European Union should participate in these talks.
