Zelenskyy Signals Election Willingness Amid U.S. Pressure for Ukraine-Russia Truce

Rome — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Tuesday his preparedness to conduct fresh elections in the war-torn nation, while pledging to deliver updated counterproposals to Washington within 24 hours aimed at resolving the protracted conflict with Russia.

The declaration comes as U.S. President Donald Trump intensifies efforts to compel Kyiv to endorse a U.S.-drafted agreement, an early iteration of which drew sharp rebukes from Ukraine’s European partners for tilting too generously toward Moscow.

Zelenskyy, wrapping up a whirlwind diplomatic tour across Europe, informed journalists that his team would finalize the revisions by Wednesday. “We are working today and will continue tomorrow. I think we will hand it over tomorrow,” he stated, following consultations that underscored Kyiv’s push for alignment between its allies and the incoming American administration.

Trump, in a Politico interview released the same day, asserted that Russia maintains the advantage on the battlefield and lambasted Ukrainian leadership for allegedly leveraging the conflict to sidestep democratic processes. “You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore,” he remarked, reiterating prior claims that Zelenskyy had overlooked recent U.S. overtures.

Under Ukraine’s legal framework, martial law—enacted after Russia’s 2022 incursion—bars elections, delaying what would have been a presidential vote in March 2024. In direct response to Trump’s critique, Zelenskyy affirmed his openness to ballots. “I am ready for the elections,” he declared, tasking parliament with drafting amendments to enable voting amid wartime conditions, including potential changes to electoral statutes.

Zelenskyy’s itinerary over the last 48 hours included high-level discussions in London and Brussels on Monday with European counterparts, followed by Tuesday meetings in Rome with Pope Leo XIV and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. These engagements focused on crafting a unified reply to Washington’s blueprint, which initially spanned 28 points but was streamlined to 20 following weekend U.S.-Ukraine negotiations.

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Central disputes revolve around territorial concessions and security assurances. The U.S. outline reportedly calls for Ukraine to relinquish the uncaptured Donbas industrial heartland—echoing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Tuesday assertion during a broadcast event that the area constitutes “our historical territory, absolutely.” Zelenskyy rejected any such handover, citing prohibitions under Ukrainian constitutional law, domestic statutes, and global norms. “Do we envision ceding territories? We have no legal right to do so… And we don’t have any moral right either,” he emphasized.

Equally pressing, he noted, are uncertainties over post-truce protections. “The key is to know what our partners will be ready to do in the event of new aggression by Russia. At the moment, we have not received any answer to this question,” Zelenskyy added. The proposals offer safeguards but stop short of the NATO membership Kyiv seeks.

Trump’s approach to Ukraine has fluctuated since his January inauguration. While he initially upbraided Zelenskyy for insufficient appreciation of American aid, recent frustrations with stalled mediation attempts prompted fresh sanctions on Russian energy exports. Yet in the Politico exchange, he turned his ire toward continental Europe: “They talk but they don’t produce.”

Meloni, casting herself as a mediator between Trump and the European Union, has championed Ukraine’s cause since the invasion, dispatching arms restricted to domestic use and vetoing Italian participation in a prospective British-French monitoring mission. Her government, however, deferred a renewal of military support last week, as the existing mandate expires December 31. Coalition partner Matteo Salvini’s League has voiced doubts on continued assistance given evolving diplomacy, though Meloni reaffirmed Rome’s commitment: “As long as there’s a war, we’ll do what we can, as we’ve always done to help Ukraine defend itself.”