Speaking to reporters on Feb. 11, he reiterated that Kyiv would only move toward elections when reliable security guarantees are in place.
“As for the elections, I hear about an intention to announce them on the 24th — I hear that for the first time,” Zelenskyy said.
“I probably heard it first from the Financial Times; now I hear it from you. Many times I have said we will move to elections when there are all the appropriate security guarantees.”
He also noted that Ukraine’s international partners are usually the ones who advice the government to develop mechanisms for wartime elections.
Asked whether the White House was pressing for elections, Zelenskyy said the United States had raised the topic but was not threatening to withdraw its post-war security guarantees proposal.
Zelenskyy added that Feb. 24, the anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion. is a solemn date.
“It would be an absolutely stupid idea to take such a date to talk about politics,” he said, noting the day marks four years of war and the lives lost defending the country.
Earlier on Feb. 11, the FT reported that Ukraine was planning to hold presidential elections this spring at the same time as a referendum on a peace deal with Russia, amid U.S. pressure to organize voting by May 15.
A source in the presidential office later told Ukrinform
news agency that near-term elections were unlikely because Russia continues to attack
cities all over the country.