Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that holding elections during the ongoing war with Russia could fracture the country and even “destroy” it, as fresh calls grow for Kyiv to hold a vote despite martial law.Ukraine has suspended elections under martial law since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, with the move continuing to receive broad public support as the country remains focused on the war.Zelenskyy was responding to a call by ousted former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov for Ukraine to find a way to organise fresh elections despite the ongoing conflict. Fedorov’s demand has emerged as a direct challenge to Zelenskyy’s leadership.“I believe that if we want to destroy the country, then we can move towards elections during this kind of war,” Zelenskyy said at a briefing with selected journalists, according to Reuters.He later warned that an election held under current conditions could further fracture the country.“I believe that during such a war, elections in general are big risks. Elections right now are a tsunami for the state that will split Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.The issue has nevertheless gained fresh prominence after Fedorov’s call for a wartime vote. Zelenskyy has previously faced similar demands from Russian president Vladimir Putin and US president Donald Trump.The debate comes amid a political crisis in Kyiv that intensified after Zelenskyy dismissed Fedorov, who had remained a popular figure. The dispute was followed by criticism of Ukraine’s military leadership and further changes within the top command structure.Zelenskyy’s five-year presidential term formally expired in May 2024, but elections have not been held because of the continuing war.Zelenskyy said he would support an election if Ukraine’s allies could establish “specific conditions” to ensure it was safe, legitimate and democratic. According to an opinion poll cited by AFP, only 15 percent of Ukrainians believe elections should be held before the end of hostilities.It would require the participation of Ukrainian soldiers, people living in frontline areas and millions of Ukrainians who have fled abroad, he said. Voting would also have to take place safely, “without strikes and shelling”.“That’s why my strategy is to steer the country toward an ending of the war and to preserve an independent and sovereign state,” Zelenskyy said.The debate comes as Ukraine prepares for another difficult winter. Zelenskyy said Russia had a stockpile of between 600 and 630 high-speed ballistic missiles and was seeking to produce more than 100 a month.“I wanted to secure 300 Patriot missiles for the winter package. The request from our Air Force is 360,” he said according to the Guardian, while acknowledging constraints on global production of the interceptors.Earlier, Zelenskyy had said France had agreed to provide at least one SAMP/T air-defence system, while Germany would supply about 600 PAC-2 and PAC-3 interceptors in 2027-28. French President Emmanuel Macron separately said he had agreed to strengthen support for Ukraine, including interceptor missiles.The Ukrainian president also said he believed Russia could seek to mobilise another 300,000 soldiers after parliamentary elections in September, according to the Guardian.Meanwhile, a poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found that 57 per cent of Ukrainians wanted elections only after the fighting ends, underlining the challenges facing any move towards a wartime vote.
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