Ukraine says security guarantees and a ceasefire are essential for elections, as Trump calls for new leadership and Moscow questions Zelenskyy’s legitimacy under martial law.
The Kremlin rejected the idea of a 60-day ceasefire to hold elections in Ukraine but said it was ready to refrain from striking Ukraine on election day. This was reported by Radio Svoboda.
“The president has already spoken about this, but I can say on his behalf, with full responsibility, that if they in Kyiv genuinely want to hold elections, the president of the Russian Federation, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, will be ready to issue an order not to strike Ukraine on election day, specifically on election day,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmytro Peskov told reporters.
Commenting on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s statement that a 60-day ceasefire was necessary to hold elections in Ukraine, Peskov claimed that Kyiv allegedly needed a 60-day truce not to hold elections but to “regroup, heal its wounds, and continue the war.”
He reiterated Moscow’s repeatedly stated position that Russia needs not a ceasefire but a lasting peace.
On October 10, US President Donald Trump said he would like to see a new person become president of Ukraine. In his view, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not making sufficient efforts to end the war with Russia.
Trump made the statement following his conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, after which he announced an agreement between the United States and Russia on supplying millions of tons of Russian diesel fuel to the US and global markets.
Commenting on the US president’s statement, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that, “with all due respect to President Trump,” it was “for our society, our people to decide.” He stressed that holding elections now would be difficult not only because it would contradict Ukrainian law, but also because it was necessary to “ensure security and give people the opportunity to vote.”
As Zelenskyy noted, Ukraine is ready to hold elections if Russia agrees to a full 60-day ceasefire.
Russia ignored this statement regarding a 60-day ceasefire but said that Trump had called for a change of leadership in Ukraine because Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy needed to make “very responsible and very difficult decisions” to end the war.
The United States, including President Donald Trump, has raised the issue of the need to hold elections in Ukraine several times.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian officials claim that President Zelenskyy is allegedly illegitimate because no presidential election was held in Ukraine in 2024.
Kyiv emphasizes that security remains a key condition for holding elections in Ukraine, which faces Russian attacks almost daily.
In April 2026, Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked seven years in office, despite the maximum presidential term being five years. Under martial law, which was declared in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, holding elections is prohibited.
