Ukraine Could Be ‘Ready for Elections,’ Zelensky Says

The Ukrainian president told reporters that a vote could be held in 60 to 90 days if the country received security protections from the United States.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said on Tuesday that his country could be ready for elections in 60 days if the United States and Europe provided Kyiv with security guarantees.

“I will say frankly that I am ready for elections,” Mr. Zelensky told reporters in an online chat.

Mr. Zelensky has long said that he would hold elections only if the war in Ukraine was over and that a vote is banned under martial law. Ukraine was placed under martial law in February 2022 in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion. The declaration has been renewed several times since then.

Mr. Zelensky’s change of approach seemed to be a negotiating tactic to get security guarantees from the United States in response to comments by President Trump that suggested a Russian victory in the war in Ukraine would be inevitable.

“I ask now — and state this openly — the United States of America to help me, maybe together with European colleagues, ensure security for holding elections,” Mr. Zelensky said. “Then in the next 60-90 days Ukraine will be ready for elections.”

The guarantees, according to Mr. Zelensky, could include weapons, air defense and sanctions, if needed.

In an interview with Politico published on Tuesday, Mr. Trump called for elections in Ukraine, accusing the country’s leadership of “using war not to hold an election.”

Mr. Zelensky said that if he received the security guarantees he had requested, he would ask his Parliament to prepare proposals to change the law so that a vote could be held.

Mr. Trump’s relationship with Ukraine, which has been rocky, has seemed to grow increasingly testy as Ukraine has not fully embraced his peace plan.

Mr. Trump said that Mr. Zelensky, who has rejected parts of the U.S. proposal for a cease-fire, would have to “get on the ball” and start “accepting things.” Mr. Trump also suggested that it was time for Mr. Zelensky to compromise in the cease-fire talks.

In the online chat with reporters, Mr. Zelensky said that Ukraine was still working on revising the peace plan, which would probably be sent to the United States on Wednesday. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has called Mr. Zelensky an illegitimate leader and pushed for Ukrainian elections.

The Ukrainian leader said that three documents were in the works: a peace plan, which consists of 20 points, as well as two documents on security guarantees and reconstruction.

Several elements of the American peace plan echoed demands made by the Kremlin.

Mr. Zelensky’s remarks on elections came against the backdrop of chaos in his government, with his top advisers involved in a corruption investigation, and as Russia has advanced on the battlefield and Mr. Trump has pushed the peace plan that favors Moscow.

Mr. Zelensky has been in power since 2019, when he won in a landslide election. His first five-year term officially ended last year.

Related Content