Ukraine can hold elections within months if security is ensured, Zelenskyy says

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian officials were expected to hand their latest peace proposals to United States negotiators Wednesday, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who also said Ukraine would be ready for elections within three months if partners can guarantee a safe vote during wartime and if its electoral law can be altered.

Zelenskyy was responding to comments by U.S. President Donald Trump in which he questioned Ukraine's democracy and suggested the Ukrainian leader was using the war as an excuse not to hold an election.

Zelenskyy told reporters late Tuesday that he is ''ready'' for an election but would need help from the U.S. and possibly Europe to ensure security for a vote to happen. He suggested that Ukraine could be ready to hold balloting in 60 to 90 days if that proviso is met.

''To hold elections, two issues must be addressed: primarily, security — how to conduct them, how to do it under strikes, under missile attacks; and a question regarding our military — how they would vote,'' Zelenskyy said.

''And the second issue is the legislative framework required to ensure the legitimacy of elections,'' he said.

Previously, Zelenskyy had pointed out that a ballot can't legally take place while martial law imposed due to Russia's invasion nearly four years ago is in place. He has also asked how a vote could happen when civilian areas of Ukraine are being bombarded by Russia and almost 20% of the country is under Russian occupation.

Zelenskyy said he has asked lawmakers from his party in Parliament to draw up legislative proposals that would allow elections while Ukraine is under martial law.

But with Trump pressing hard for a deal between Kyiv and Moscow, Zelenskyy is walking a tightrope between defending Ukrainian interests and showing the American president that he is willing to make some compromises.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly complained that Zelenskyy can't legitimately negotiate a peace settlement because his five-year term in office that began in 2019 has expired.

''I think it's an important time to hold an election. They're using war not to hold an election,'' Trump said in an interview with Politico, echoing Moscow's stance.

US, Russia seek closer ties

A new U.S. national security strategy released last Friday made it clear that Trump wants to improve America's relationship with Moscow and ''reestablish strategic stability with Russia.''

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday praised Trump's role in the Ukraine peace effort, saying in a speech at the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia's Parliament, that Moscow appreciates his ''commitment to dialogue.'' Trump, Lavrov said, is ''the only Western leader'' who shows ''an understanding of the reasons that made war in Ukraine inevitable.''

While Trump's decisions are likely to be pivotal for Ukraine, Washington's peace efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands from Moscow and Kyiv.

Trump's initial peace proposal was heavily slanted toward Russia's demands. To counter that, Zelenskyy has turned to his European supporters.

In recent days, Zelenskyy met the leaders of Britain, Germany and France in London, and the heads of NATO and the European Union in Brussels, before traveling on to Rome for talks with the Italian prime minister and Pope Leo XIV.

Zelenskyy said three documents were being discussed with American and European partners — a 20-point framework document that is constantly changing, a document on security guarantees, and a document about Ukraine's recovery.

Europe's support is uneven, however, and that has meant a drop-off in military aid since the Trump administration this year cut off supplies to Kyiv unless they were paid for by other NATO countries.

Foreign military help for Ukraine fell sharply over the summer, and that trend continued through September and October, a German body that tracks international help for Ukraine said Wednesday.

Average annual aid, mostly provided by the U.S. and Europe, was around 41.6 euros billion ($48.4 billion) between 2022–2024. But so far this year Ukraine has received just 32.5 billion euros ($37.8 billion), the Kiel Institute said.

''If this slower pace continues in the remaining months (of the year), 2025 will become the year with the lowest level of new aid allocations'' since the war began, it said.

This year, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden have substantially increased their help for Ukraine, while Germany nearly tripled its average monthly allocations and France and the U.K. both more than doubled their contributions, according to the Kiel Institute.

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