{
  "id": 2786239,
  "title": "Zelenskyy warns wartime elections would be a ‘tsunami’ that splits Ukraine",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/zelenskyy-warns-wartime-elections-would-be-a-tsunami-that-splits",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-23T12:02:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Voice of Ukraine",
    "slug": "new-voice-of-ukraine",
    "url": "https://english.nv.ua/nation/zelenskyy-warns-wartime-elections-could-split-ukraine-50635005.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.\n\nZelenskyy 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.\n\nOn 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.\"\n\nZelenskyy 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.",
  "summary": "It is impossible to hold elections in the country while active fighting continues, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, while speaking to reporters on Aug. 23.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "CBS News",
        "title": "Zelenskyy rejects wartime elections, cites \"huge risk\"",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/zelenskyy-rejects-wartime-elections-cites-huge-risk",
        "published": "2026-08-23T08:59:04.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "DW News",
        "title": "Ukraine: Zelenskyy rejects wartime elections",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/ukraine-zelenskyy-rejects-wartime-elections",
        "published": "2026-08-23T10:23:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Financial Times",
        "title": "Zelenskyy rejects election call from fired defence minister",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/zelenskyy-rejects-election-call-from-fired-defence-minister",
        "published": "2026-08-23T11:26:39.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Al Jazeera",
        "title": "Zelenskyy says wartime elections could ‘destroy’ Ukraine",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/zelenskyy-says-wartime-elections-could-destroy-ukraine",
        "published": "2026-08-23T12:19:12.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "CBC News",
        "title": "Zelenskyy says holding elections during war would 'destroy' Ukraine",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/zelenskyy-says-holding-elections-during-war-would-destroy-ukraine",
        "published": "2026-08-23T13:41:41.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}