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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the country will not hold elections until it secures firm security guarantees and reaches a ceasefire with Russia, dismissing reports that his administration faces pressure from the United States to organise fresh polls.
Speaking on Wednesday, Zelensky said Ukraine’s priority remains national security, stressing that elections can only take place once conditions are safe.
“We will move to elections when all the necessary security guarantees are in place,” he said in a voice note to reporters. “I have said it is very simple to do: establish a ceasefire, and then there will be elections.”
He has also said any deal that involves ceding territory to Moscow should be put to a referendum.
Zelensky, a former comedian who played a fictionalised president on Ukrainian TV before running for office, was elected in 2019 for a five-year term.
Russia has repeatedly questioned Zelensky’s legitimacy since 2024, when that term would have expired.
There are a number of practical obstacles to holding a ballot, such as security during any campaign and vote, and what to do with the millions of Ukrainian refugees forced abroad.
Millions more have been displaced internally, while hundreds of thousands are living under Russian occupation or fighting at the front.
Polling shows little appetite among the Ukrainian public for a ballot during the war.
