"No need to wait for years": Zelenskyy on when elections could be held in Ukraine

The Verkhovna Rada will set the date for the next presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as martial law is lifted in Ukraine. Until then, according to Ukraine's Constitution, the current president and parliament remain the legitimate authorities.

This was stated by President Zelenskyy in an exclusive interview with hosts Yulia Halushka and Yehor Gordeyev on the TSN.ua channel.

"I can explain the situation both de jure and de facto. First of all, regarding elections, I want to be honest - no one is talking about them except for Russia, and some people in Ukraine. It seems to me that people are concerned - what elections during a war? But in Russia, they really want this to continue pushing the narrative of the illegitimacy of the president of Ukraine. According to our constitution, presidential and parliamentary elections cannot take place during martial law, or we would need to change the legislation, which is also impossible during the martial law period," the President explained.

In response to a question about how he envisions 2025 regarding the likelihood of elections, Zelenskyy stated that it all depends on whether active hostilities in Ukraine could be brought to an end.

"If we manage to end the active phase of the war from a strong position for Ukraine, if we can achieve that, we will have a strong army, a strong weapons package, security guarantees, and only then, in principle, we could think about lifting martial law in Ukraine. And if there is no martial law, then it is up to the parliament, which will support the date for elections. I mean, after martial law ends, waiting for years for elections is unnecessary," the President noted.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also emphasizes that the election process in Ukraine will be conducted exclusively according to the law. This issue cannot and should not be the subject of bargaining, for example, if Russia sets the holding of elections in Ukraine as a condition for starting negotiations.

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