Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was prepared to hold elections before the end of the war but later abandoned the idea because former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi could potentially enter the race.
Former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov made the claim in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda.
According to Fedorov, he proposed holding elections as early as June, before the war was over — first a presidential election and then parliamentary elections. Fedorov claims that Zelensky was initially prepared to pursue this scenario but later changed his mind because of Zaluzhnyi’s potential candidacy.
“I told the president directly that elections needed to be held, because then you would stop thinking about them and start thinking about your legacy.” Zelensky asked: “What is your interest?” Fedorov said he replied: “Victory in the war.”
According to the former minister, after he began publicly advocating for elections, he received no offers to finance his own political project, although he claimed there were “many interested parties.”
Zaluzhnyi commanded the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the first two years of Russia’s full-scale invasion and currently serves as Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom.
His potential entry into politics has long been the subject of speculation in Ukraine. Polls have also tested him as a hypothetical presidential candidate. In a Socis survey conducted from July 28 to August 2, 2026, Zelensky and Zaluzhnyi were nearly tied in a hypothetical first round, at 22.3% and 21.4% respectively among decided voters. In a hypothetical runoff between the two, 66.2% backed Zaluzhnyi and 33.8% Zelensky. Zaluzhnyi, however, has not formally announced a presidential campaign.
At the same time, Ukraine cannot hold national elections while martial law remains in force. A parliamentary working group has reached a consensus that elections should not take place under martial law and is instead working on the legal and practical framework for post-war voting.
Among the major challenges are ensuring voting rights for millions of Ukrainians living abroad, military personnel and internally displaced people, as well as organizing a secure and legitimate electoral process after the end of martial law.
