Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has firmly rejected any suggestion of holding a presidential election in Russia-held territories, including those in the Kupiansk, Pokrovsk, Sumy, Odesa, Donetsk, and Donbas regions.
At his year-end news conference late Saturday, Zelenskyy was commenting on remarks made by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday on offering to halt deep strikes in Ukraine on the day it holds elections for the post of the President.
Putin had said Russia is ready to consider ways to ensure election security in Ukraine by not attacking Ukrainian territories on Election Day, provided 5-10 million Ukrainians currently living in Russia, who retain the right to vote in the upcoming elections, are allowed to vote.
Putin has been demanding elections in Ukraine, saying Zelenskyy has now become an illegitimate leader since his term ended in May 2024.
He is considering holding elections in Russia, as well as in some annexed Ukrainian territories, including in the eastern and southern regions under its control.
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Zelenskyy, however, said that it was not up to Putin to decide when and in what format the election in Ukraine will take place, adding that elections are exclusively for the people of Ukraine. He also cited possible Russian interference in the elections.
The Ukrainian president warned that allowing voting under occupation would be unacceptable and could legitimise Russia’s control over territories including parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Crimea.
Shortly after Putin’s year-end press conference ended on Friday, Russia carried out missile strikes on the port city of Odessa, killing at least eight and wounding 27 others, the country’s State Emergency Service said.
Both sides have intensified targeting each other’s energy infrastructure ahead of the harsh winter months.
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