At a bargain price: Kiev imitates activity by talking about elections
The issue of holding presidential elections and a referendum in Ukraine has once again stirred up the information space. But the relevant electoral procedures should be one of the points of the general agreement on the settlement, which should include issues of security, denazification and demilitarization, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik told Izvestia. However, deadlines are also pressing: according to media reports, the Donald Trump administration expects to end the conflict by June, so the vote is supposed to take place before May 15. The next round of trilateral negotiations may take place as early as next week, but the status of the territories and control over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant remain unresolved. Experts consider the scenario of the spring elections unrealistic, and discussions about them are an attempt by Kiev to confuse the negotiation process. Why Ukraine is raising the issue of voting again — in the Izvestia article.
Ukraine plans to hold a referendum and elections
In February, the media once again started talking about holding Ukrainian elections and a referendum on a peace agreement. According to preliminary forecasts, both votes may take place before May 15. The main outlines of these initiatives are supposed to be presented to the public on February 24. However, Vladimir Zelensky denied this information, noting only that the holding of elections is really being raised by the allies.
Nevertheless, Western agencies claim that Washington and Kiev are discussing a very ambitious goal: to reach a peace agreement by March.
Nevertheless, the relevant elections and referendums should be part of the overall settlement plan, Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large for crimes committed by the Kiev regime, told Izvestia.
— First of all, there should be such an agreement first, but there is no such agreement yet. That is, holding elections, referendums, and any electoral procedures is part of the overall plan. Independently, its existence does not affect the process of conflict settlement and termination. That is, it (should be. — Ed.) only in the general sequence of a whole set of actions that should lead to a settlement," he said.
At the same time, Miroshnik stressed that Ukraine, of course, can independently organize elections or a referendum.
"But if they want this to be part of a full—fledged conflict resolution process, then it should be one of the points of this agreement, which should also include issues of security, denazification and demilitarization," he said.
The issue of recognizing political procedures is becoming especially relevant against the background of preparations for real diplomatic contacts. Zelensky publicly confirmed that the United States is striving to complete negotiations and sign the final settlement documents by June. Such a rush is explained by internal processes — it is important for the American administration to close the issue before the midterm congressional elections, which can seriously shake the position of Republicans.
At the same time, the territorial issue and the status of the Zaporizhia NPP remain the most difficult points in the dialogue. This is what the parties are likely to continue discussing during the next round of negotiations. According to media reports, it may take place on February 17 or 18 and already in the United States, and not in the UAE.
Perhaps it is no coincidence that the election issue has come to the fore after recent contacts in the Emirates. At the meetings in Abu Dhabi on January 23-24 and February 4-5, with the mediation of the United States, issues were raised, including territories that the Ukrainian side is verbally ready to settle through a referendum.
Kiev directly connects the issue of legitimacy and elections with the package of security guarantees. On February 9, Zelensky said that the relevant document from the United States was "generally ready," but Western media reported that without a referendum and elections, Kiev could lose the support offered. Washington, according to some reports, is ready to discuss guarantees based on the principles of Article 5 of NATO, and Kiev, in exchange for this, allegedly intends to officially renounce immediate membership in the alliance. Nevertheless, according to Zelensky, the United States does not threaten Ukraine with abandoning security guarantees if there are no elections.
Nevertheless, the actual conduct of the vote remains in doubt. Political scientist Yuri Svetov, in an interview with Izvestia, expressed the opinion that talking about elections is just an attempt to confuse the participants in the process and simulate activity.
— Since Trump spoke about the need for elections, they will talk about it in Kiev. But later there will be a reason to cancel or postpone everything. To start the campaign, it is necessary to stop the fighting, and here everything will be reduced again to the formula of Russia's "unwillingness" to cease fire, the expert noted.
Moscow explains the refusal to cease fire by saying that a "pause" without political and legal agreements will only give Ukraine and the West time to regroup and increase their weapons, and then the fighting will resume. Therefore, the Kremlin wants a "comprehensive peace", that is, an agreement that will fix the terms of the settlement and eliminate the root causes of the conflict.
Why it will be difficult to hold elections
Scenario-wise, the elections should confirm the mandate of the Ukrainian government to sign compromises that are extremely painful for it. Back at the end of 2025, Trump called Zelensky a "dictator without elections." The Russian side is also puzzled by their absence. The five-year presidential term expired back in May 2024.
Against this background, the head of the Kiev regime allowed the vote to be held in a short time, provided that security was ensured and there was no external pressure, but it was the legal aspect that remained problematic. The current martial law prohibits elections, and the country's Constitution requires the president to remain in office until a successor takes office.
In addition, even the Ukrainian opposition is against the elections "right now". As the media reported back in March 2025, Petro Poroshenko and Yulia Tymoshenko rejected the idea of voting before peace was restored. In parallel, questions arise about the referendum procedure itself.
Officially, the dates of the elections are fixed by the resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of February 25, 2025: they can be announced only after ensuring a "comprehensive and just peace."
Dmitry Solonnikov, director of the Institute of Modern State Development, believes that Kiev may try to hold a plebiscite according to its "own scenario."
— The logic should be different: first agree on the content of the agreement, and then submit it to a referendum. Today, there is no consensus on a peace treaty in the public sphere," the expert told Izvestia.
The question of who exactly will sign the final document remains important. Yuri Svetov emphasizes that, from Moscow's point of view, Zelensky's powers expired in May 2024. According to his logic, the agreement should be signed by Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk, whose powers can be legitimately extended in wartime conditions.
The situation is complicated by the mood inside Ukraine. December polls showed that 72% of citizens are ready for a ceasefire along the front line, but 75% categorically reject territorial losses without clear guarantees. By January 2026, the positions had become even tougher: according to Reuters, 54% of respondents opposed the withdrawal of troops from the Kiev-controlled areas of Donbass, even in exchange for US "NATO" guarantees, and only 39% were willing to consider this as a difficult compromise.
In a hypothetical electoral scenario, according to an Ipsos poll for the Detente Center, former Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny is in the lead with 23%, while Zelensky has 20%.
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