With Ukraine still under fire, President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that trying to hold elections now would invite chaos and deepen divisions, pushing back against a fresh call for a wartime vote from his former defence minister.
“I believe that in a war like this, elections as such are a huge risk. Elections right now are a tsunami for the country that will split Ukraine,” Mr Zelensky said in remarks made public this morning.
The comments came after ousted defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov on Wednesday urged Ukraine to organise elections despite the ongoing conflict, saying the country was facing a governance crisis — the most serious internal test for Mr Zelensky since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Ukrainian law prohibits holding elections during wartime.
“Democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia,” Mr Fedorov said in a video address posted on YouTube.
“We must find a legal, safe and realistic mechanism that will allow Ukraine to renew its full democratic process even in the conditions of a long war.”
Mr Fedorov, 35, had been considered a longtime ally of Mr Zelensky before his sudden dismissal from the Defence Ministry in July, just six months after taking the post and promising sweeping reforms.
Meanwhile, Mr Zelensky also said that Ukraine believes Russia is planning to mobilise an additional 300,000 troops for its war effort after parliamentary elections in September.
Speaking to reporters, he added that Russia could draft hundreds of thousands more in 2027 as it pursues what he described as a key objective: capturing the remaining areas of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
