Listen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated using AI-based technology. Pronunciation errors may occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve results. Holding wartime elections in Ukraine while active fighting with Russia continues would “destroy” the country by dividing Ukrainians, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. His comments, released to reporters on Sunday, were Zelenskyy’s first on the issue since ousted former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov called for wartime elections in an explosive speech last week. His dismissal last month sparked widespread protests, but supporters calling for his reinstatement later opposed his call for elections, the first such demand by a major Ukrainian political figure since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. “I think if we want to destroy the country, then we can move towards elections during this kind of war,” Zelenskyy said. War elections are prohibited by Ukrainian law. Analysts also say security concerns and the millions of Ukrainians abroad, under Russian occupation or fighting on the front lines, mean it would be too difficult to hold elections.WATCH | Former Defense Minister calls elections: Zelenskyy faces the electoral call of the popular Defense Minister he fired. In what many see as Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelenskyy’s biggest challenge since the 2022 Russian invasion, ousted Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has publicly called for wartime presidential elections. Federov’s dismissal last month sparked protests across Ukraine. Elections “will divide Ukraine,” says Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy’s approval rating has remained “generally stable at around 60 percent, but pollsters have said that while Ukrainians want fresh faces in politics, many have little appetite to vote now. In previous comments on the matter, Zelenskyy said that a wartime election could be possible if kyiv’s partners could guarantee security, but that no one has proposed such a plan. “The elections right now are a tsunami for the state, which will divide Ukraine,” he said. “Zelenskyy also detailed the breakup with his former defense minister, saying he maintains “a very positive attitude” toward Fedorov, a longtime ally who has been seen as the Ukrainian president’s main political rival. “We’ve been through a lot together, but I think he himself goes, or is pushed, towards the wrong things,” Zelenskyy said. Fedorov did not explicitly say whether he would run in any future elections. A popular minister credited with modernizing Ukraine. armed forces and accelerating the military’s adoption of technology and drone warfare, Fedorov was fired last month after allegedly falling out with the country’s top military commander.WATCH | Ukraine hits Russia with drone strikes in mid-August: Massive Ukrainian drone strike hits targets inside Russia Ukraine hit targets in Russia on Saturday, including Moscow, with hundreds of drones in one of its biggest strikes of the war so far, demonstrating its growing ability to match Russia in long-range strikes. Fedorov, he said, rejected all four proposals. Zelenskyy also alluded to problematic decisions on defense spending and said inaccurate information provided by the Defense Ministry contributed to an awkward meeting with US President Donald Trump over Russia’s use of Starlink. The Ukrainian president said that earlier this year, the ministry had told him that SpaceX had agreed to allow Ukraine to use Starlink over Russian territory to carry out deep strike operations, subject to political approval. Zelenskyy, left, meets with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Türkiye last month. (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press) As a result, Zelenskyy said he raised the issue directly with Trump and told him that Musk had confirmed the proposed use. Zelenskyy said the two sides subsequently sought confirmation from Musk and discussed financing the project. But in a later meeting, Zelenskyy said Trump told him that Musk had rejected the proposal and accused him of misleading the US president. Musk considered the move a dangerous escalation, according to Zelenskyy. “He said that I had supposedly misled him because Musk had denied Ukraine the use of Starlink on Russian territory. I went back to our Ministry of Defense and they told me that maybe that was the case,” he said. Zelenskyy did not explicitly accuse Fedorov of lying, but said the episode was one of the reasons behind “some of the measures.”
