Zelenskyy denies immediate plans to announce elections
Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Photo: Zelenskiy Official / Telegram)
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied a Financial Times report that he planned to announce presidential elections and a referendum on Feb. 24.
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.
The military war may be swinging in our favor, but the information war continues.
Just as an army needs soldiers, so does a free society need its journalists to ensure that people have access to honest, trustworthy voices to understand the world around them.
For the past five years, The New Voice of Ukraine has been working tirelessly to push back against Russian narratives and defend democracy. But we cannot do it alone.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon for just $5 a month – your donation does directly to supporting journalists and ensuring that this front of the infowar says solid and defended.
Thank you.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
