Photo collage showing Presidents Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin. PHOTO: Presidential Office of Ukraine / imago stock and people / Profimedia
Ukraine plans to hold presidential elections and a referendum on a possible peace deal with Russia, after the Trump administration pressured Kiev to hold both polls by May 15, or risk losing security guarantees offered by the US, writes the Financial Times.
The move, according to people familiar with the situation, comes amid intense pressure from the White House on Kiev to conclude negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in the spring.
The plan is in line with US efforts, outlined by Volodymyr Zelenskiy to reporters last Friday, to sign all documents to end Europe's biggest conflict since World War II by June.
Holding elections would mark a dramatic political shift for a president who has repeatedly argued that such elections are impossible as long as the country remains under martial law, millions of Ukrainians are displaced and about 20 percent of the country is under Russian occupation.
According to Ukrainian and European officials involved, Zelenskiy plans to announce the plan for presidential elections and a referendum on February 24, the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion.
Zelensky's office did not respond to a request for comment on the situation. The US Embassy in Kyiv declined to comment.
Ukrainian and Western officials have stressed that both the timetable and the US ultimatum are unlikely to be met because they depend on several factors, but the plan underscores Zelenskiy's desire to maximize his re-election prospects.
National polls show public support for Zelenskiy, while still substantial, has declined from near-unanimous levels four years ago amid war-weariness and corruption scandals in the president's inner circle.
Zelensky said Ukraine and the US have reached an agreement on security guarantees and he is ready to sign them with Trump.
But the US president has indicated to Kiev that US security guarantees are conditional on accepting a broader peace deal, which would likely involve ceding the Donbas region to Russia and which Washington wants completed before a May 15 deadline.
Zelenskiy has so far resisted calls to cede territory, saying last week that Ukraine “will stay where it is”.
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