Zelenskyy denies plan to announce elections in Ukraine soon despite pressure from Trump

Kyiv — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy does not plan to make an announcement about looming presidential elections in an upcoming speech commemorating the four-year mark of the war, the Ukrainian leader said late Wednesday, after a report suggested he would schedule a national vote due to pressure from President Trump.

Zelenskyy told reporters that Ukraine would “move toward elections when all the relevant security guarantees are in place.”

The Financial Times reported earlier that Zelenskyy did plan to announce presidential elections would be held as soon as May during an address on Feb. 24, the date that will mark four years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.  

“I want to say that this is a special date — February 24. Even if there were an intention or relevant steps toward bringing certain elections closer, I believe it would be an absolutely foolish idea to use such a date to talk about politics,” Zelenskyy said. “This is a very serious date — four years of war. It’s a large number of people who have defended our state and given their lives. And it is since February 24 that our people have been defending their country every day. I could never do what you are asking. Therefore, February 24 cannot be used to announce any elections — any elections at all.”

An adviser to Zelenskyy who spoke on the condition of anonymity also told CBS News on Wednesday that there was “no change in the negotiations track that would lead the president to make this announcement.” 

“As for elections and the intention to announce something on the 24th — this is the first time I am hearing about it. I first heard it, I suppose, from the Financial Times. Now I am hearing it from you for the second time,” Zelenskyy told reporters Wednesday.

Zelenskyy told journalists in Kyiv last week that the Trump administration was pushing Ukraine and Russia to agree to a deal to end the war by June.

“The Americans are proposing the parties end the war by the beginning of this summer and will probably put pressure on the parties precisely according to this schedule,” Zelenskyy said.

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Mr. Trump has at times been fiercely critical of Zelenskyy, including in comments one year ago when he called him a “dictator without elections.” But Ukrainian politicians point out that under the country’s constitution, national elections cannot be held during martial law — which has been imposed since Russia launched its war.

Are elections feasible in Ukraine as the war continues?

In December, President Trump renewed that line of criticism, accusing Zelenskyy of “using the war” to avoid elections in an interview with Politico. 

The Ukrainian leader responded to Mr. Trump’s comments then, saying elections could be held if the U.S. and Europe were prepared to “ensure security” in his country amid Russia’s ongoing assault.

Large public gatherings have been prohibited in Ukraine and curfews remain in place under the martial law measures intended to protect civilian life. Meanwhile,Russia’s deadly airstrikes show no sign of abating. 

In January alone, Russia hit Ukraine with a record 5,717 bombs and missiles, according to an analysis by the Ukrainian group Oko Gora + News and Analytics. Explosive drone attacks have also been relentless. Officials said one drone hit a civilian home overnight in the Kharkiv region, killing a father and his three toddlers and seriously wounding his pregnant wife.

On top of the security risks, experts say legal and logistical constraints also make holding elections during the war nearly impossible. According to Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, it is illegal to hold either parliamentary or presidential elections under martial law. 

The war has also driven many Ukrainian voters out of the country, and there’s little infrastructure in place to enable remote voting. As of November 2024, there were some 5.2 million Ukrainian refugees abroad, according to the Center for Economic Strategy, while United Nation’s International Organization for Migration estimates an additional 3 million Ukrainians are internally displaced and would also be unable to vote at local polling stations. 

For all those reasons, Ukrainian officials say elections cannot be held before a ceasefire comes into effect. 

Many also argue that any national election should include or accompany a referendum for the Ukrainian people to back — or reject — the terms of any eventual deal to end the war, which could include Ukraine making territorial concessions, though Zelenskyy has thus far ruled that out. 

According to the president’s office, such a referendum would only be valid if more than half of the country’s eligible voters are able to participate.

“Elections are just one part of a peace plan,” the Ukrainian presidential adviser told CBS News on Wednesday. “We will vote on all points of the peace plan together, and we cannot cherry pick elections separately.”