President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday he was ready to hold new elections in Ukraine provided security could be assured, and that he expected to send Washington within a day revised proposals on ending the nearly four-year war with Russia.
US President Donald Trump is pressuring Kyiv to accept a deal formulated by Washington, the initial version of which was criticized by Ukraine’s allies as overly favourable to Russia.Trump, who earlier accused Zelenskyy of not reading the latest US proposals, said Russia had the “upper hand” in the conflict, in an interview with Politico published on Tuesday.
He also accused Kyiv of “using war” to avoid elections, which have been postponed under the imposition of martial law since Russia invaded its neighbour.
“You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore,” Trump said.
Ukrainian law prohibits holding elections under martial law, without which a presidential ballot was to have taken place in March 2024.
But on Tuesday, following Trump’s comments, Zelenskyy said he was ready to organise a new ballot.
“I am ready for the elections,” Zelenskyy told journalists, adding that he was asking Ukrainian lawmakers to prepare “proposals regarding the possibility of amending the legislative foundations and the law on elections during martial law.”
He said that, for the vote to take place, security had to be assured in the country whose cities come under Russian drone and missile attacks on a daily basis.
“I am now asking, I declare this openly, for the United States of America to help me, possibly together with European colleagues, to ensure security for holding elections,” he said.
