Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky plans to hold elections in Ukraine at the same time as a referendum on a possible peace plan, the British Financial Times reports today.
The administration of US President Donald Trump is reportedly pressuring the Ukrainian leader to hold both votes by May 15 or risk losing security guarantees.
Zelensky plans to announce a plan to organize presidential elections and a referendum on February 24, the anniversary of the beginning of Russia's invasion of the country, the Financial Times reported, citing Ukrainian and European officials.
US President Trump has previously stated that elections should be held in Ukraine "at some point."
Trump's special envoy for the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Keith Kellogg, mentioned this on February 1 in an interview with Reuters, when he pointed out that most democratic countries hold elections during wartime and that he believes it is important for them to be held because it is good for democracy.
However, the state of war that has been ongoing since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, prevents the elections from being held. Ukrainian political parties agreed at a meeting from November 10 to 12, 2023, to organize elections six months after the end of the state of war.
"We need to decide that it is time for defense, a struggle on which the fate of the state and people depends, and not for the farce that only Russia expects from Ukraine," Zelensky justified the decision on November 9, 2023.
Reuters reported last week that under a framework being negotiated by U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators, any peace deal would be put to a referendum in Ukraine, with Ukrainians voting in national elections at the same time. Officials have also talked about the possibility of holding national elections and a referendum in May.
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