The video was published on the BR24 YouTube channel.
Earlier, on February 11, Zelensky did not confirm the Financial Times information about his intention to announce on February 24 the holding of elections and a referendum in Ukraine.
At a conference in Munich, the president noted that this media report was news to him.
“Give us two months of truce and we will go to elections. That's it… Give us truce, give us security, infrastructure, maybe not two months, but we need many days to prepare. Then give our soldiers the opportunity to vote. How can they protect our lives, our country, and at the same time vote. […] This is something complicated,” Zelensky said.
According to him, US President Donald Trump may push the illegitimate Russian President Vladimir Putin to a truce with Ukraine.
“Then our parliament will change the law and we will go to elections if they are needed. If Americans need elections in Ukraine and if Russians need elections in Ukraine, we are open to this,” Zelensky emphasized.
The Ukrainian president then added: “We can also offer a ceasefire to the Russians if they hold elections in Russia.”
President Zelensky @ZelenskyyUa from Munich: “We can also kick off the fire if Russia is ready to hold elections within itself.” pic.twitter.com/BQxm3K0yDu
— GRUNT (@grntmedia) February 14, 2026
Context
On December 22, 2025, the Rada began to prepare a bill on elections during the war, said Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk. According to him, the new law will be one-time only.
Zelensky reported that the entire “peace plan” could be put to a referendum if the issue of territories could not be agreed upon in the negotiations. In particular, the head of the Ukrainian state considers it necessary to hold a referendum if the United States insists on creating a potential “free economic zone” in Donbass.
On December 28, Zelensky and Trump met in Florida. After her, the head of the White House said that Putin does not agree to a temporary truce to hold a referendum in Ukraine.
On January 7, 2026, Zelensky told reporters that there could be legislative changes on elections and referendums in February.
On February 6, Reuters wrote that Washington and Kyiv are agreeing to approve the terms of a peace settlement by March. It was assumed that any peace agreement would be put to a referendum in Ukraine, where national elections would also be held at the same time. At the same time, the agency’s sources in the negotiation group doubted the achievability of this deadline.
Trump said on February 13 that the aggressor country of the Russian Federation allegedly wants to conclude an agreement, so Zelensky “must act”, otherwise “he will miss a great opportunity.”
