Ukraine can hold elections within months if security is ensured, Zelensky says
Ukrainian officials are expected to hand their latest peace proposals to United States negotiators later today, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.
He 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.
Mr Zelensky was responding to comments by US 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.
Mr Zelensky told reporters that he is “ready” for an election but would need help from the US 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,” Mr Zelensky said.
“And the second issue is the legislative framework required to ensure the legitimacy of elections.”
Previously, Mr Zelensky had pointed out that a ballot cannot 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.
Mr Zelensky said he has asked politicians from his party in parliament to draw up legislative proposals that would allow elections while Ukraine is under martial law.
Ukrainians have on the whole supported Mr Zelensky’s arguments, and there has been no clamour in Ukraine for an election. Under the Ukrainian law that is in force, Mr Zelensky’s rule is legitimate.
But with Mr Trump pressing hard for a deal between Kyiv and Moscow, Mr Zelensky 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 Mr Zelensky cannot 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,” Mr Trump said in an interview with Politico, echoing Moscow’s stance.
A new US national security strategy released last Friday made it clear that Mr Trump wants to improve America’s relationship with Moscow and “re-establish strategic stability with Russia”.
The document also portrays European allies as weak.
Ukraine deeply appreciates all the support of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex and the Holy See – the ongoing humanitarian assistance and the readiness to expand humanitarian missions.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 9, 2025
During today’s audience with His Holiness, I thanked him for his constant prayers for… pic.twitter.com/J2iPAdArQn
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, on Wednesday praised Mr 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”.
Mr Lavrov said Mr Trump is “the only western leader” who shows “an understanding of the reasons that made war in Ukraine inevitable”.
While Mr Trump’s decisions are likely to be pivotal for Ukraine, Washington’s peace efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands from Moscow and Kyiv.
Mr Trump’s initial peace proposal was heavily slanted towards Russia’s demands. To counter that, Mr Zelensky has turned to his European supporters.
In recent days, Mr Zelensky met the leaders of Britain, Germany and France in London, and the heads of Nato and the European Union in Brussels, before travelling on to Rome for talks with the Italian prime minister and Pope Leo XIV.
Mr Zelensky 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.
Over these days and weeks, we have been maintaining virtually round-the-clock communication with our partners. I am grateful for this level of attention and full engagement. Today in London, together with Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer, we held a joint call with partners. There was…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 8, 2025
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 on Wednesday.
Average annual aid, mostly provided by the US and Europe, was around 41.6 billion euros between 2022–2024. But so far this year Ukraine has received just 32.5 billion euros, the Kiel Institute said.
It said that “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.
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 UK both more than doubled their contributions, according to the Kiel Institute.
On the other hand, it said, Spain recorded no new military aid for Kyiv in 2025 while Italy reduced its low contributions by 15% compared with 2022–2024.
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