Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that holding elections in Ukraine while the war with Russia and active fighting continue would “destroy” the country by dividing Ukrainians.
His comments, released to journalists on Sunday, are Zelensky’s first remarks on the issue since former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who was dismissed from his post, called for elections to be held during the war in a surprising statement last week.
Fedorov’s sudden dismissal last month sparked widespread protests, but supporters calling for his reinstatement later backed away in the wake of his call for elections—the first such demand from a prominent Ukrainian political figure since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
“I believe that if we want to destroy the country, then we can move toward elections during a war like this,” Zelensky said.
Elections during wartime are prohibited under Ukrainian law. Analysts also say that security concerns, along with millions of Ukrainians who are abroad, living under Russian occupation, or fighting on the front lines, would make holding elections extremely difficult.
Support for Zelensky has remained generally stable at around 60%, but polling institutes say that while Ukrainians want new political figures, many are currently reluctant to vote.
A poll conducted on August 5 by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found that 57% of Ukrainians want elections to be held only after the fighting has ended.
