Zelenskyy’s five-year term expired in 2024, but the Ukrainian constitution bars elections during wartime. Even his political opponents have consistently acknowledged that current security and political conditions make holding an election impossible
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the country will hold elections only after it reaches a ceasefire with Russia, an assertion he has made several times in the past despite US pressures to hold fresh ballots.
“We will move to elections when all the necessary security guarantees are in place. I have said it’s very simple to do: establish a ceasefire, and there will be elections,” Zelenskyy told reporters on Wednesday.
Zelenskyy’s five-year term expired in 2024, but the Ukrainian constitution bars elections during wartime. Even his political opponents have consistently acknowledged that current security and political conditions make holding an election impossible.
The president has also said that it is possible to “end the hostilities by summer” if Russia agrees. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has also been critical of Ukrainian democracy. Last year, Putin asserted that Ukraine’s current leadership lacks legitimacy and argued that there is no point in entering into any agreements with it.
‘US wants to get everything done by June’
Zelenskyy has said the US has set another deadline for Ukraine and Russia to reach a peace settlement, with Washington now proposing that the war should end by June. He also said both sides had been invited to further talks next week.
Speaking to reporters, Zelenskyy said the Trump administration was likely to increase pressure on both Kyiv and Moscow to bring the conflict to an end by the start of summer. “They say they want to get everything done by June,” he said, adding that Washington wanted a clear timeline for the process.
Zelenskyy said that if the new June deadline was not met, the US would probably step up pressure on both sides to reach an agreement.
Trilateral talks end in impasse
Russia, Ukraine and the US have held two rounds of talks, but none of them have yielded any substantial results. However, the two warring parties released more than a hundred prisoners of war last week after a four-month hiatus.
Zelenskyy said he was keen for the talks to lead to the end of the four-year war, but repeated his insistence that Ukraine must receive robust security guarantees, including from Washington, to ensure Russia does not attack again.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who took part in earlier talks with Russian officials and Witkoff, said the imposition of further sanctions on Russia would depend on how the talks proceeded. Bessent maintained his belief that Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine was illegal and continued to believe Russian President Vladimir Putin was a war criminal.
With inputs from agencies
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