Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday he was prepared to hold elections within three months if the U.S. and Kyiv's other allies could ensure the security of the vote.
Wartime elections are forbidden by law but Zelenskyy, whose term expired last year, is facing renewed pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to hold a vote as he pushes Kyiv to secure peace quickly in the nearly four-year-old war with Russia.
"I'm ready for elections, and moreover I ask...that the U.S. help me, maybe together with European colleagues, to ensure the security of an election," Zelenskyy said in comments to reporters.
"And then in the next 60-90 days Ukraine will be ready to hold an election."
Zelenskyy's remarks followed comments by Trump in an interview with Politico published on Tuesday suggesting Ukraine's government was using the war as an excuse to avoid elections.
"You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore," Trump said.
Zelenskyy dismissed suggestions that he was clinging to power as "totally inadequate".
Ukraine, which is pushing back on a U.S.-backed peace plan seen as Moscow-friendly, is seeking strong security guarantees from its allies that would prevent a new Russian invasion.
Zelenskyy and other officials have routinely dismissed the idea of holding elections with frequent Russian air strikes across the country, nearly a million troops at the front and millions more Ukrainians displaced.
On Tuesday, he said he would ask parliament to prepare proposals for legislation that could allow for elections during martial law.
Polls have shown that Ukrainians are against holding wartime elections but also want new faces in a political landscape largely unchanged since the last national elections in 2019.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he thinks there is a chance of a peace being reached with Ukraine. He told the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia that he believed there was "a chance of finding a solution," to the conflict.
The U.S. has launched a fresh wave of strikes on Iran, targeting Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) sites as Tehran retaliated against U.S. positions across the region, while Iranian officials said at least five people were killed and dozens wounded at a wedding near Sirik.
The Iranian Health Ministry said at least 18 people were killed and 142 others injured in U.S. airstrikes carried out between 30 August and 2 September.
The European Union's foreign policy chief Kaia Kallas says the bloc will tighten enforcement of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine. EU foreign ministers were meeting in Ireland following renewed Russian strikes on cities across Ukraine.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 3rd of September, covering the latest developments.
Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenskyy says envoys from the United States will be visiting Moscow and Kyiv to negotiate an end to the conflict.
China’s southern coastal provinces of Fujian and Guangdong are bracing for more torrential rain after Typhoon Saudel triggered widespread flooding, swept away vehicles and caused a three-storey building to collapse.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 4th of September, covering the latest developments.
The Trump administration pressured U.S. space companies not to attend a high-profile space summit in Paris organised by French President Emmanuel Macron, prompting a last-minute reshuffle and the cancellation of some planned announcements, according to sources familiar with the matter.
A Russian court on Thursday imposed restrictions on Lida Moniava, the founder of a children’s hospice, who is accused of spreading false information about the Russian military’s actions in Ukraine.
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