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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would organize elections if Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a 60-day total ceasefire. His offer came after U.S. President Donald Trump urged Ukrainians to choose a new leader who could make a deal. No agreement to a ceasefire or election timetable has been announced.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would organize elections if Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a 60-day total ceasefire, making a halt to the fighting a condition of the proposal. Zelensky made the comments in an interview with ABC News journalist Jonathan Karl, amid renewed pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump for Ukraine to hold a vote and pursue a deal with Russia.
Zelensky said Ukrainians should decide when to vote and whom to elect. He framed the proposed pause as a way to hold elections while fighting stops, rather than announcing a vote date or saying an election was already being organized. His proposal depends on Moscow agreeing to stop military action for two months.
“Give us two months, 60 days off. Total ceasefire, 60 days, and we will organize elections,” Zelensky said, according to Meduza’s report of the interview. He added that Ukraine would accept “any choice of our people,” describing the decision as belonging to Ukrainians.
The comments followed Trump’s call for Ukraine to get a new president who could make a deal. Trump also criticized Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. Zelensky said Kyiv would halt those attacks only if Moscow stopped striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure, according to the report.
Ceasefire Becomes a Condition for Voting
Zelensky’s statement links two contentious issues: the timing of Ukrainian elections and the conditions required to pause the war. It puts the next step in the hands of Russia, which would have to accept the proposed ceasefire before the election plan could proceed as described.
The proposal also responds to Trump’s public demand for a new Ukrainian leader. Zelensky’s answer presents an election as a decision for Ukrainian voters, while arguing that a temporary end to attacks would be needed to hold one. That distinction matters as the United States presses for a negotiated settlement and Kyiv and Moscow remain at war.
For now, this is a stated offer, not an agreed process. Without a ceasefire commitment, the remarks do not establish when an election could be held, how long preparations would take, or whether all sides would accept the outcome and conditions.
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Trump’s Call for New Leadership
In remarks reported the day before Zelensky’s interview, Trump told reporters Ukraine should “get a new leader who could make a deal.” He argued that Zelensky could have made deals but had not. Those are Trump’s characterizations; the report does not provide further detail about the negotiations he referenced.
Trump also objected to Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries, saying the United States had told Zelensky he could act against Russia but should not target refineries, which Trump called a “world problem.” Zelensky’s response tied a halt to those strikes to Russia ending attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. These comments form the immediate backdrop to the election proposal, but the report does not say the refinery issue was formally part of the ceasefire offer.
““Ukrainians themselves should decide when to vote and whom to elect.””
— Volodymyr Zelensky, as reported by Meduza
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No Ceasefire or Vote Date Set
There is no reported agreement from Putin to the proposed 60-day ceasefire, and Zelensky did not announce an election date. The report also does not specify when such a pause would begin, how a total ceasefire would be monitored, or what arrangements would be needed to conduct a vote during wartime.
It remains unclear whether Moscow or Washington will respond to the proposal, and whether the parties would agree on the scope of a ceasefire. Zelensky’s remarks establish his stated condition; they do not confirm that elections can be scheduled or that a ceasefire is imminent.
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Watch for Moscow’s Response
The immediate development to watch is whether Putin or Russian officials respond to Zelensky’s offer and whether any ceasefire discussions follow. The report gives no announced meeting, negotiation timetable, or next milestone.
If the proposal advances, the parties would still need to clarify the ceasefire’s terms and how an election could be organized. Until those details are agreed and publicly confirmed, the election plan remains conditional.
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Key Questions
What did Zelensky propose?
He said Ukraine would organize elections if Russia agreed to a 60-day total ceasefire.
Has Putin agreed to the ceasefire?
The report does not describe an agreement or a response from Putin. The proposal remains conditional and unaccepted in the reported material.
Did Zelensky set an election date?
No. He said Ukraine would organize elections during a 60-day ceasefire but gave no date or detailed timetable.
Why did Zelensky raise elections now?
His comments followed Trump’s public suggestion that Ukraine get a new leader who could make a deal. Zelensky said Ukrainians should decide when to vote and whom to elect.
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