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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov stated that in June 2026 he proposed to President Volodymyr Zelensky to hold elections in Ukraine. The head of state rejected this initiative due to the risk of competition from the ambassador to the United Kingdom Valeriy Zalyuzhnyi.
Details are reported by the Ukrainian Pravda with reference to an interview with the former head of the defense ministry.
What did Fedorov say about the proposal to hold elections?
The politician tried to persuade the head of state to focus on historical heritage rather than political calculations.
"I told the president directly that elections need to be held, because then you will stop thinking about them and think about your monument. He asked: What is your interest? I replied: In winning the war", said Mykhailo Fedorov.
The former official believed that the summer period was favorable for re-electing the incumbent president against the backdrop of active attacks on the capital by the aggressor and positive news from Crimea and Donbas. Zelensky initially showed willingness to such a step, but preparations stopped after clarifying the positions of potential opponents.
The idea of holding rapid elections was finally rejected allegedly after both Valeriy Zaluzhny, the Ukrainian ambassador to the UK, and Kirilo Budanov, head of the Office of the President, refused to withdraw their candidacies.
According to available information, Valeriy Zaluzhny was summoned to Kyiv for a discussion of his political ambitions, where the president directly asked about the intention to run in the autumn 2026 year.
The diplomat confirmed his intention to participate in the electoral race, explaining it by a high level of trust from citizens.
Political prospects and attracting investments
After the public call to resume the electoral process in wartime, Fedorov denied participation in any political coalitions.
According to Fedorov, he received numerous offers to fund his projects, but now he is not looking for political partners.
As a reminder, earlier we wrote that in the evening 18 August Mykhailo Fedorov released a video address about the need to find mechanisms for holding elections in Ukraine despite the difficult conditions of wartime.
We also reported that the former minister accepted the proposal of Italian defense minister Guido Crosetto and took the position of his adviser on defense innovations.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Федоров пропонував Зеленському провести вибори до звільнення: президент відмовився через 2 людей". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Channel 24.
