Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected calls to organize elections during the war with Russia, warning a vote could “split Ukraine,” as former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov emerged as a potential political rival and Kyiv confronted worsening missile shortages and intensified Russian attacks.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected growing pressure to hold national elections while the country remains at war with Russia, saying a wartime vote could fracture Ukraine as it confronts escalating Russian strikes, shortages of critical air-defense missiles and renewed political turmoil at home.
Zelensky’s remarks, made Saturday during a briefing with journalists and released publicly Sunday, came after his former defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, unexpectedly called for Ukraine to find a way to conduct elections.
“I believe that in a war like this, elections as such are a huge risk,” Zelensky said. “Elections right now are a tsunami for the country that will split Ukraine.
“If we want to destroy the country, then we can move in the direction of elections during these times of war,” he added.
Ukraine has suspended national elections under martial law since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. Public support for postponing elections remains substantial, with an opinion poll cited in the report finding that only 15% of Ukrainians believe voting should take place before hostilities end.
The issue has nevertheless become increasingly prominent.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump have both previously called for Ukraine to conduct elections, despite continuing Russian missile and drone attacks throughout the country.
Fedorov’s intervention has now brought the debate directly into Ukrainian domestic politics.
The former defense minister has not explicitly announced an intention to challenge Zelensky, but his call to find a mechanism for holding elections immediately fueled speculation that he could be positioning himself as a political rival.
His team confirmed Sunday that Fedorov plans to travel to the United States soon, a visit likely to add to questions surrounding his political plans.
Organizing an election under wartime conditions would present substantial practical and security obstacles.
Millions of Ukrainians have fled the country since the Russian invasion began. Large portions of Ukrainian territory remain occupied by Russian forces, while hundreds of thousands of military personnel are serving away from their homes.
Election officials would therefore have to determine how active-duty soldiers, refugees living abroad and Ukrainians residing in occupied territories could cast ballots.
Any national election would also face threats from Russian interference and the possibility of direct missile, drone or other military attacks against polling locations and election infrastructure.
The political pressure comes after a turbulent summer for Zelensky’s government.
A domestic crisis erupted after Zelensky dismissed Fedorov, who had become a popular figure during his tenure as defense minister.
Thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets demanding that Fedorov be reinstated, while the former minister publicly criticized senior military leadership.
The controversy ultimately led Zelensky to dismiss Ukraine’s commander-in-chief.
Fedorov then escalated the political uncertainty by unexpectedly calling days ago for authorities to determine how elections could be organized despite the continuing war.
Even some of Fedorov’s supporters distanced themselves from the proposal.
Zelensky, meanwhile, continues to retain broad public support despite growing pockets of domestic dissatisfaction as the war enters its fifth year.
Fedorov built much of his own popularity through his advocacy for military modernization, particularly Ukraine’s increasingly important drone-warfare program. He also pushed for reforms within the armed forces, helping develop a public following beyond the government.
His possible emergence as a political alternative to Zelensky comes at a particularly difficult military moment for Ukraine.
European leaders traveled to Kyiv on Sunday for a Nordic-Baltic summit focused on Ukraine’s defense requirements ahead of further discussions Monday.
After holding individual meetings with several of the visiting leaders, Zelensky announced a new agreement with Norway involving unmanned aircraft.
He said the drone agreement “strengthens cooperation between our defense sectors.”
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said his government had pledged $9 billion in support for Ukraine next year.
The meetings are continuing Monday, Ukraine’s Independence Day, when Kyiv’s principal European supporters are expected to discuss the country’s most urgent battlefield problems and potential measures to increase pressure on Russia to end its invasion.
One of Ukraine’s most serious vulnerabilities is its dwindling supply of interceptor missiles.
Russia has increased its use of ballistic missiles, which are considerably more difficult for Ukrainian defenses to intercept than many other weapons.
Zelensky said deliveries of interceptor missiles used by American-made Patriot air-defense systems have fallen by half compared with 2023.
Patriot systems are among Ukraine’s most important defenses against Russian ballistic missiles.
The United States, however, is confronting shortages of its own as the war with Iran consumes military resources, and Washington has been reluctant to release large quantities of the interceptors for Ukrainian use.
As Russia increases its long-range attacks, Ukraine has expanded strikes deep inside Russian territory, targeting energy infrastructure and logistics facilities.
Those operations have included attacks on Russian oil refineries and retail warehouses.
On Sunday, Ukrainian forces struck a warehouse belonging to Russian e-commerce company Ozon for a second consecutive day.
The expanding exchange of long-range strikes has produced growing consequences for civilians.
Verified United Nations statistics show civilian deaths in the approximately four-and-a-half-year war have risen to their highest level since the first months following Russia’s 2022 invasion as Moscow intensifies its missile and drone campaign.
Against that military backdrop, Zelensky is arguing that introducing an election campaign would create another potentially destabilizing struggle inside Ukraine at precisely the time the government is attempting to maintain national unity and strengthen its defenses.
His rejection of Fedorov’s proposal also leaves unresolved a broader political question that has followed Ukraine throughout the war: when and under what conditions the country can resume elections suspended under martial law.
For Zelensky, the answer remains that doing so while Russia continues its invasion would pose an unacceptable threat to the country itself.
“Elections right now are a tsunami for the country that will split Ukraine,” he said.
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