Zelensky warns wartime elections could divide and destroy Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cautioned that wartime elections in Ukraine would be a "tsunami" that could split the country, during a press conference on August 23. Zelenskyy stated that elections could be held in Ukraine if international partners provided guarantees for a safe vote, including service members participating, front-line areas and abroad, where millions of citizens had fled the war. However, no specific proposals have been offered thus far.

Zelenskyy emphasized that elections could not be held while Russian President Vladimir Putin remains unwilling to consider cease-fire options, and that the war must end before any elections could take place. He warned that elections during a war pose significant risks and could result in the division of Ukraine.

On August 18, Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Fedorov, released a video address on his YouTube channel, urging Ukraine to hold elections. Fedorov stressed that Russia had no right to determine the timing of Ukrainian elections and called for a broader discussion about the future of the state and democracy. The Guardian described Fedorov's address as "the most direct political challenge to Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine."

Zelenskyy dismissed the need for elections during the war, emphasizing that daily missile strikes and drone attacks by Russia provided a definitive answer to the question of whether elections could be safely organized in this context. Presidential communications adviser Dmytro Lytvyn echoed this sentiment, stating that Russian strikes were a clear indication that an electoral process during the war was not feasible.