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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
According to Merezhko, the latest deterioration in relations between Ukraine and the United States is temporary: it is linked to the election campaign in the United States.
The chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation, Oleksandr Merezhko (Servant of the People faction), believes that the idea of holding presidential elections in Ukraine during the war is aimed at weakening the country.
Merezhko said this in a comment to Interfax-Ukraine.
He also expressed the view that the idea itself belongs not to US President Donald Trump, but to Vladimir Putin.
"The call to hold elections during the war is not Trump’s idea, it is Putin’s idea, aimed at weakening Ukraine during the war. Trump should be aware that such calls are intended to realize Putin’s desire to weaken and destroy Ukraine," Merezhko said.
He also noted that Trump’s call not to attack Russian oil refineries could create the impression that he cares more about Russia’s war machine and Putin’s interests than about Ukraine’s civilian population.
At the same time, Merezhko believes the latest aggravation in Ukraine–US relations is temporary: it is connected to the US election campaign.
"After the midterm elections 3 in November emotions will begin to subside. Right now the main thing is to show restraint and not make abrupt moves or statements. Although that does not mean we cannot criticize President Trump’s mistaken decisions," the committee chair said.
According to him, this will not significantly affect aid to Ukraine, because any attempts to weaken that aid will not be accepted by either the American public or Congress.
Context
9 in October US President Donald Trump said he had agreed with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on supplying diesel fuel from Russia to the American and global markets. AXIOS reported that Trump decided to conclude this deal after Volodymyr Zelensky refused, at Washington’s request, to unilaterally stop strikes on Russian oil refineries.
Trump criticized Zelensky, saying he is “not ready to make deals,” and that Ukraine should choose a new leader who can negotiate an end to the war.
Zelensky replied that Ukraine will organize elections if the Russian Federation agrees to a 60-day full ceasefire.
Earlier the aggressor state Russia called for the necessity of holding elections in Ukraine, attempting to manipulate the impossibility of holding voting within legally prescribed terms because of the war. The need for presidential elections was also voiced in the US. At that time Zelensky also said he was ready if partners ensured full security for voting.
Elections during the war
The Constitution prohibits holding elections during a war. Nevertheless, over three and a half years of full-scale war, various political forces have repeatedly suspected each other of starting the pre-election process. MPs and members of the CEC constantly emphasize that preparations for post-war elections must begin now — to normalize in advance the fact that voting cannot take place in certain territories, to ensure the voting rights of millions of internally displaced persons and Ukrainians abroad. At the same time, deputies still have not passed any law for the first post-war elections. Read more in the LB.ua piece “Post-war elections: why is the Rada not preparing the necessary law?”.
18 in September 2025, during a trip to the United States, Zelensky commented on the question of elections. The president said that the condition for holding them, besides the end of the war, is unconditional security, including in the air. He also noted that he would like elections to be held “to finish with this topic.”
According to a social survey, the highest trust among politicians is held by former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Valeriy Zaluzhnyi. At the same time, if presidential elections were held, Zelensky would receive the most support (35% among all respondents), while Zaluzhnyi would get 25%.
In 2023 Zelensky said that elections in Ukraine are not timely. At the same time, he said he would be willing to run only if the elections took place during the war. That same year KMIS published the results of a survey in which 81% of respondents said they do not support holding elections during the war.
Parliamentary elections in Ukraine should also have taken place already in 2024, but they are impossible during a period of martial law.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Голова комітету Ради: ідея проведення виборів в Україні під час війни належить Путіну а не Трампу". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: LB.ua.
