Zelenskyy says wartime elections would destroy Ukraine
This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected calls for wartime elections, saying they would split the country and pose a huge risk amid the war with Russia. His comments came after former Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov publicly demanded a vote, the first such call by a major political figure since the 2022 invasion. Zelenskyy spoke as Russian strikes killed two people in Donetsk and wounded eight in Kharkiv overnight.
Key Facts
- Zelenskyy called wartime elections a 'tsunami' that would 'split' Ukraine and a 'huge risk' during a briefing with reporters on Saturday.
- Former Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, 35, posted a nine-minute video on Tuesday demanding a wartime vote, the first such call by a major Ukrainian political figure since Russia's 2022 invasion.
- Overnight Russian strikes in Donetsk region killed two people and wounded two others, while a drone attack on Kharkiv wounded eight people, including a child.
- A Russian drone hit a passenger train travelling from Zhytomyr to Odesa in the Odesa region, with no casualties reported.
- Ukrainian law bans elections during wartime, and analysts say security concerns and millions of displaced Ukrainians make holding a vote practically impossible.
Zelenskyy's Rejection
Zelenskyy rejected Fedorov's call during a wide-ranging briefing with reporters on Saturday, with his comments published on Sunday. He said elections during the war would be a 'tsunami' that would 'split' Ukraine and a 'huge risk'. The president added that moving towards elections during wartime would mean wanting to destroy the country. Ukrainian law prohibits elections during wartime, a measure that had gone unchallenged until Fedorov's public demand earlier this week.
Fedorov's Challenge
Fedororov, 35, held the defence minister post for six months before Zelenskyy fired him in July, prompting protests across the country. On Tuesday, he posted a nine-minute video on YouTube claiming Ukraine's democracy 'cannot be held hostage by Russia' and that Kyiv faces a 'systemic crisis of governance'. Fedorov's call for an election was the first such demand by a major Ukrainian political figure since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. Supporters who had called for his reinstatement later baulked at his election demand, according to Reuters.
Russian Strikes
Overnight Russian strikes in the eastern Donetsk region killed two people and wounded two others on Sunday, Ukraine's emergency services said on Telegram. At least 141 private homes sustained damage in the Donetsk attack. A drone attack on the northeastern city of Kharkiv wounded eight people, including a child, and burned at least two residential buildings. In the Odesa region, a Russian drone hit a passenger train travelling from Zhytomyr to Odesa, with no casualties reported, according to the Kyiv Independent citing Ukrainian Railways CEO Oleksandr Pertsovskyi. Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Ukraine is especially focused on hitting Russian ballistic launchers as Moscow ramps up its use of missiles, which can effectively only be destroyed by US-designed Patriot systems.
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Zelenskyy says wartime elections would destroy Ukraine
