Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that elections will not be held as Kyiv's war with Moscow continues to drag on nearly two years since it began.
During a speech on Monday, Zelensky said that holding elections under current conditions would be "absolutely irresponsible" and would only serve to benefit Russia. He added that now is "not the time for elections."
Ukrainian Elections
Zelensky noted that everyone should think about defending Ukraine from Russia's continued aggressive invasion. He urged everyone to avoid unwinding and splitting into disputes or other priorities.
The Ukrainian president added that if the country does not achieve victory against Russia, there will no longer be a nation. Currently, the war-torn nation is under a state of martial law as it continues to fight to repel Moscow's invasive forces.
If Moscow had not attacked Ukraine, parliamentary elections would have already taken place last month. Zelensky's speech comes only a few days after Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Dmytro Kileba said that the president was weighing the pros and cons of a presidential vote in 2024, as per Fox News.
Zelensky has been the president of Ukraine since May 2019 and is up for re-election in March 2024. But the European leader has called on the Ukrainian electorate to rally around its current leadership in the face of the brutal war that has already taken the lives of nearly 500,000 on both sides.
In a statement, the Ukrainian president said that now is the time for defense, for battle, which he said would affect the fate of the state and its people. But many see the postponement of elections to create diplomatic problems for Zelensky. This is because the support for Ukraine from international entities is inextricably linked to defending democratic ideals.
The United States has already provided more than $100 billion in aid for Ukraine's war against Russia. US President Joe Biden's administration is proposing another $61.4 billion for Kyiv as part of a $105 billion supplemental funding package that would also provide assistance to Israel, which is currently fighting against the Hamas militant group.
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Military Aid to Kyiv
Under Ukrainian legislation, elections are banned during martial law, which has been implemented since the beginning of Russia's invasion. The situation comes as a top aide to Zaluzhnyy was killed by a grenade that was sent as a gift for his 39th birthday, according to the Associated Press.
Some have suspected that the incident was a targeted attack, but Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said that Maj. Hennadii Chastiakov's death was a tragic accident. The explosion also badly injured the latter's 13-year-old son.
On the other hand, there are some, including US Sen. Lindsey Graham, who has called for Ukrainian elections to proceed as planned. They argue that this should be done to demonstrate Kyiv's commitment to democracy.
The statements regarding a potential deadlock in the war come after Kyiv's counteroffensive has not made a breakthrough in the five months since it began. Additionally, questions have arisen about the sustainability of Western military aid, according to Reuters.
