Ukraine Can Hold Elections Within Months If Security Is Ensured, Zelenskyy Says

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials are expected to deliver their final peace proposals to U.S. negotiators on Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy also said Ukraine would be ready for elections in three months if partners guarantee safe voting in wartime and the election law can be changed.

Zelenskyy responded to US President Donald Trump’s statements. Questioned Ukraine’s democracy He claimed that the Ukrainian leader was using the war as an excuse not to hold elections.

Zelenskyy he told reporters He said late Tuesday that he was “ready” for the election but would need help from the United States and possibly Europe to secure the vote. He suggested that if this condition is met, Ukraine could be ready to vote in 60 to 90 days.

“In order for elections to be held, two issues need to be addressed: first of all, security – how they will be held, how they will be held under strikes and missile attacks, and a question about our military – how they will vote,” Zelenskyy said.

“The second issue is the legal framework required to ensure the legitimacy of the elections,” he said.

Earlier, Zelenskyy had pointed out that the vote could not be held legally due to martial law. invasion of Russia Available almost four years ago. He also asked what the vote could be like when civilian areas of Ukraine are being bombed by Russia and almost 20 percent of the country is under Russian occupation.

Zelenskyy said he asked lawmakers from his party in Parliament to draft bills that would allow elections while Ukraine is under martial law.

Ukrainians generally supported Zelenskyy’s arguments, and there was no clamor for elections in Ukraine. According to current Ukrainian law, Zelenskyy’s rule is legitimate.

but with Trump presses for deal Between Kiev and Moscow, Zelenskyy is walking a tightrope between defending Ukraine’s interests and showing the American president that he is willing to make some concessions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly complained that Zelenskyy cannot legitimately negotiate a peace deal because his five-year term, which began in 2019, has expired.

Trump echoed Moscow’s stance in an interview with Politico, saying, “I think it’s an important time to hold elections. They’re using war, not to hold elections.”

A. USA’s new national security strategy A statement released last Friday made clear that Trump wants to improve America’s relations with Moscow and “restore strategic stability with Russia.”

European allies are also portrayed as weak in the document.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday praised Trump’s role in Ukraine peace efforts and told the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian Parliament, that Moscow appreciated Trump’s “commitment to dialogue.” Lavrov said Trump was “the only Western leader” who showed that he “understands the reasons that make the war in Ukraine inevitable.”

Although Trump’s decisions will be vital for Ukraine, Washington’s peace efforts have run into some problems. sharply conflicting demands From Moscow and Kiev.

Trump’s first peace offer He was heavily inclined to Russia’s demands. To counter this, Zelenskyy He turned to his European supporters.

Recently, Zelenskyy met with the leaders of Britain, Germany and France in London, and the heads of NATO and the European Union in Brussels, before traveling to Rome to meet the Italian prime minister and Pope Leo XIV.

Zelenskyy said three documents were discussed with American and European partners: an ever-changing 20-point framework document, a document on security guarantees and a document on Ukraine’s recovery.

But European support has been uneven, meaning a decline in military aid since the Trump administration this year cut off supplies to Kiev unless it was paid for by other NATO countries.

Foreign military aid to Ukraine dropped sharply over the summer, and that trend continued through September and October, a German organization that tracks international aid to Ukraine said Wednesday.

The average annual aid provided mostly by the United States and Europe was around 41.6 billion euros ($48.4 billion) in 2022-2024. But Ukraine has received only 32.5 billion euros ($37.8 billion) so far this year, the Kiel Institute said.

“If this slowdown continues in the remaining months of the year, 2025 will be the year with the lowest level of new aid allocation since the beginning of the war,” the statement said.

This year, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden have significantly increased their aid to Ukraine, according to the Kiel Institute, while Germany has almost tripled its average monthly allocations, while France and the United Kingdom have more than doubled their contributions.

On the other hand, the report stated that Spain did not record any new military aid to Kiev in 2025, while Italy reduced its low contributions by 15% compared to 2022-2024.

You can follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine