Zelensky rejects rival’s call for vote, says it would ‘split’ Ukraine

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President Volodymyr Zelensky said in remarks made public Sunday that it would be too dangerous for Ukraine to hold an election while fighting Russia, after a call by his former defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, to organise a vote.

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As he fended off the political pressure, Zelensky announced a new drone deal with Norway, with European leaders arriving for talks ahead of a meeting on Monday to discuss how to pressure Russia to end its invasion.

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Ukraine has suspended elections under martial law, a measure still widely supported by the population as the country focuses on fighting off the Russian invasion launched in 2022.

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The Ukrainian leader has previously faced calls both from Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump to stage a vote, even as Moscow rains down missiles and drones across the country daily.

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In a briefing with journalists on Saturday, including from AFP, Zelensky said, “I believe that in a war like this, elections as such are a huge risk. Elections right now are a tsunami for the country that will split Ukraine.”

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“If we want to destroy the country, then we can move in the direction of elections during these times of war,” he added.

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– Obstacles to a vote –

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Kyiv has been engulfed in a political crisis over the summer, triggered when Zelensky fired Fedorov.

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Thousands took to the streets to demand his reinstatement, while Fedorov issued blistering attacks against the army’s top brass.

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The row forced Zelensky to sack his commander-in-chief. Then, days ago, the ousted Fedorov made a surprise call to find a way to organise elections.

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While he did not explicitly state that he wanted to challenge Zelensky, the shock move made even some of his supporters distance themselves.

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Experts have cited a flurry of obstacles to staging elections.

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They include how soldiers, millions of Ukrainian refugees and people from occupied territories would cast their ballots, as well as the threat of both interference and physical attacks from Russia.

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Only 15 per cent of Ukrainians believe elections should be held before the end of hostilities, according to an opinion poll.

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Zelensky, while having faced increasing pockets of criticism domestically as the war drags on, is still largely popular.

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Fedorov’s team confirmed to AFP on Sunday that he plans to visit the United States soon — a trip likely to revive speculation about whether he is positioning himself as a rival to Zelensky.

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The former minister was a prominent backer of the drone warfare strategy that has come to dominate Ukraine’s war with Russia, and had pushed for army reforms — winning support among the public.

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– Missile deficit –

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On Sunday, several European leaders met Zelensky in Kyiv for a Nordic-Baltic summit.

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After individual meetings with several leaders, Zelensky announced a drone deal with Norway “that strengthens cooperation between our defence sectors.”

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Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Store told reporters his country had pledged $9 billion to Kyiv for next year.

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On Monday, Ukraine’s independence day, Kyiv’s key European backers will meet to discuss Ukraine’s current military problems.

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Moscow has intensified its strikes, using hard-to-intercept ballistic missiles that expose Ukraine’s air-defence shortfall.

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Ukraine, for its part, has accelerated its own campaign of long-range strikes on Russian energy and logistics sites — including oil refineries and retail warehouses.

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On Sunday, it hit a warehouse belonging to Russian e-commerce giant Ozon for the second day running.

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Zelensky said deliveries of crucial interceptor missiles for US Patriot air-defence systems — which can shoot down Russia’s ballistic missiles — had halved since 2023.

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The US faces its own shortfall of the missiles amid its war on Iran and has been resistant to releasing large numbers to Ukraine.

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Civilian deaths in the four-and-a-half-year-long war have surged to their highest since the first months of the invasion amid the uptick in Russian strikes, according to verified statistics from the United Nations.

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AFP

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