The publication said sources within the Ukrainian leader’s team indicated they are considering a scenario in which they would not oppose seeing Budanov as part of their political team.
“Budanov has not yet strengthened politically; he does not yet have a core base to compete with Zaluzhnyi. And we will face a difficult task: somehow aligning Zelenskyy and Budanov in a situation where only one of them will have to run in the election and win,” a source told journalists.
At the same time, sources close to the head of the President’s Office said he is not currently engaged in political activity.
In December 2025, Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk approved the creation of a working group on the possibility of holding elections, headed by Oleksandr Korniienko. Later, Servant of the People faction leader Davyd Arakhamia said the Central Election Commission had resumed the State Voter Register, which may indicate gradual preparations for elections.
On Jan. 7, 2026, Zelenskyy said preparations for legislative changes on elections and a referendum could begin in February, depending on peace talks.
The president said he is ready to hold elections amid pressure from U.S. leader Donald Trump, who called on Ukraine to conduct presidential elections and in 2025 repeated Russian propaganda narratives, calling Zelenskyy a “dictator without elections.”
On Feb. 11, the Financial Times reported that Ukraine was planning to hold presidential elections simultaneously with a referendum on a peace agreement with Russia this spring, amid U.S. demands to organize the vote by May 15, 2026.
Later, the Ukrinform news agency, citing a source in the President’s Office, said elections in Ukraine in the near term are unlikely because Russia continues to carry out strikes, including against civilians.
Zelenskyy later denied the Financial Times report that he planned to announce presidential elections and a referendum on a peace deal on Feb. 24.
On Feb. 24, Stefanchuk said a draft law on postwar elections, being prepared by the working group, would be presented to parliament soon. Once finalized, Ukraine will be able to determine when elections should take place.
On March 19, The Times reported that Ukraine’s Central Election Commission had concluded elections should not be held this year, putting Kyiv “on a path of confrontation with the United States.”