Wartime election would ‘destroy’ Ukraine, Zelenskyy says

KYIV, Ukraine — Holding a wartime election in Ukraine while active fighting with Russia continues would “destroy” the country by splitting ​Ukrainians, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

KYIV, Ukraine — Holding a wartime election in Ukraine while active fighting with Russia continues would “destroy” the country by splitting ​Ukrainians, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

His comments, released to reporters on Sunday, ‌were Zelenskyy’s first on the subject since ousted former Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov called for a wartime poll in a bombshell address last week.

Fedorov’s surprise dismissal last month sparked ​widespread protests, but supporters calling for his reinstatement later baulked at his ​call for an election - the first such demand by a major ⁠Ukrainian political figure since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.

“I believe that ​if we want to destroy the country, then we can move towards elections ​during this kind of war,” Zelenskyy said.

Elections in war are prohibited by Ukrainian law. Analysts also say security concerns and the millions of Ukrainians abroad, under Russian occupation or ​fighting at the front mean it would be too difficult to hold ​an election.