Special envoy: US pushes for Ukrainian elections potentially by late 2025

Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg has stated that the US is urging Ukraine to hold elections.

He noted that the elections must be held possibly by the end of 2025, particularly if Kyiv is able to negotiate a truce with Russia in the coming months, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

Kellogg stated that the Ukrainian presidential and parliamentary elections, which were suspended due to the war with Russia, "need to take place."

 "Most democratic nations have elections in their time of war. I think it is important they do so," Kellogg said. "I think it is good for democracy. That's the beauty of a solid democracy, you have more than one person potentially running."

Trump and Kellogg have both mentioned that they are developing a plan to negotiate an agreement in the early months of the new administration to end the full-scale war that began with Russia's invasion in February 2022. However, they have provided few specifics about their approach to ending the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II, or when they might reveal their plan. 

The Trump plan is still being developed, and no final policy decisions have been made. However, Kellogg and other White House officials have recently discussed encouraging Ukraine to agree to hold elections as part of an initial truce with Russia, according to two individuals familiar with those discussions and a former US official briefed on the proposal. Trump's team is also debating whether to push for a ceasefire first, before attempting to negotiate a more lasting agreement, the two sources said. If presidential elections are held in Ukraine, the winner could take on the responsibility of negotiating a longer-term deal with Moscow. 

The sources, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive policy and security matters, did not specify how the Trump proposal might be received in Kyiv. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that Ukraine could hold elections this year, provided the fighting ends and robust security guarantees are established to prevent Russia from resuming hostilities. 

A senior adviser to Kyiv and a Ukrainian government source revealed that the Trump administration has not yet formally asked Ukraine to hold presidential elections by the end of the year.

President Zelenskyy's five-year term was set to end in 2024, but under martial law, which Ukraine imposed in February 2022, presidential and parliamentary elections cannot be held.

According to two former senior US officials, Washington raised the topic of elections with Zelenskyy's office in both 2023 and 2024.

However, officials in Kyiv have previously resisted discussions about holding elections with Washington, warning that conducting elections during such a volatile period could undermine Ukraine's position and potentially open the door for Russian influence campaigns.

By Naila Huseynova