US President Donald Trump's promise of a quick end to the Russia-Ukraine war took a new twist when his envoy said the administration would like Ukraine to hold elections, potentially this year, and especially if a ceasefire is agreed.

The statement by Trump's special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, brought to the forefront a burning, sensitive issue in Ukrainian politics, as US efforts to initiate peace talks increase and the Kremlin seeks to discredit Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by claiming he lacks legitimacy.

In an interview with Reuters, Kellogg said that elections in Ukraine "must take place" and could take place after a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine, which he said could be reached within months.

"Most democratic countries hold elections during times of war. I think it's important that they do that," Kellogg told Reuters. "I think it's good for democracy. That's the beauty of a strong democracy, you have more people who can run," Trump's special envoy said.

 

Trump, who promised during last year's election campaign to end the war before his inauguration if elected, has been vague about how he hopes to do so. He has been firm in his promise, however, that he will not resort to force against either Kiev or Moscow to bring them to the negotiating table.

Putin has repeatedly said Moscow is open to talks, but many experts suspect he will not act in good faith and would use the negotiations to project the image of a cooperative player while buying time to further improve Russia's position on the ground in Ukraine, where it has been making gains for months, albeit at a huge cost in human lives.

"If Putin manages to prolong the US administration's demand and pressure for a few more months, then he will be able to achieve more gains on the battlefield," global analysts believe.

 

Putin has repeatedly stated that Zelensky will not have the authority to sign a peace treaty, arguing that he lacks legitimacy because his five-year term expires in May 2024.

Ukraine's constitution, however, prohibits holding elections during a state of emergency, which Zelensky introduced when Russia launched the invasion in February 2022 and which, due to the duration of the invasion, has continued to this day after being extended multiple times.

However, in Ukraine, politicians have been debating the benefits of holding presidential elections since 2023, when the conversation was influenced by Western pressure and Russian propaganda.

Several Republican senators have in the past urged Zelensky to hold the election as scheduled, while Republican opposition in Congress has opposed providing additional aid to Ukraine, triggering a months-long blockade that has jeopardized Kiev's position on the battlefield, where the Ukrainian army relies heavily on weapons from the United States.

At the time, many Ukrainians, including opposition leaders and civil society groups, spoke out against holding elections during the war, warning that it would divide society at a critical moment in Ukraine's history. They also said it would put people's lives at risk, pointing to the constant Russian shelling of civilian locations.

Ukraine faces many other issues if it tries to hold elections during the war or even immediately after a ceasefire. More than six million have fled abroad, nearly four million are internally displaced, and about one million serve in the armed forces, making it difficult for them to vote. Together, they represent about a quarter of Ukraine's population.

Zelensky's arguments for not holding elections are well-known:

"There are serious challenges, but also fundamentally human things... How can (soldiers) vote from the trenches? How will people in the occupied territories vote? Millions of people? How? We no longer care what they think and who they want to elect," said Zelensky, who also mentioned Ukrainians "who were forced to flee abroad because of this war," Zelensky said.

 

Zelensky said last night that US President Donald Trump has no official plan to end Russia's war against Ukraine and added that he is ready for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin once an understanding is reached to end the war, Ukrainian media reported.

He assessed that if Trump's plan is just a ceasefire and elections, then that plan has failed.

Full analysis in the video above in the text