Zelenskyy rules out February 24 as date for election announcement

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has responded to a Financial Times report that discussed the possibility of holding elections in Ukraine and the potential timing of their announcement.

He emphasised that February 24 cannot be considered an appropriate date for launching or announcing any electoral process.

Zelenskyy addressed the issue on his Telegram channel, underscoring the symbolic and emotional weight of the date. February 24 marks the anniversary of the start of the full-scale war and commemorates those who have died defending the country. According to the president, using that day for political declarations would be inappropriate and disrespectful to both society and the military.

“February 24 is a special date. And even if there were a goal or concrete steps toward bringing certain elections closer, I believe it would be an absolutely foolish idea to choose such a date to speak about politics. This is a very serious date — four years of war. It represents a large number of people who defended our state and gave their lives. And it is precisely since February 24 that every single day our people have defended the country. I would never be able to do that,” Zelenskyy said.

He added that the question of elections is directly linked to security considerations. In his view, all necessary security guarantees must first be ensured before any political procedures can proceed. Zelenskyy noted that the topic of elections has been raised by certain international partners, but stressed that “Ukraine itself has never raised this issue. But, of course, we are ready for elections. It is very simple — establish a ceasefire, and there will be elections. In other words, it is a matter of security.”

On February 11, the Financial Times reported that elections in Ukraine could be held before May 15. The article suggested that Zelenskyy might announce both elections and a referendum on February 24.

Subsequently, Olha Aivazovska, head of the civil network “Opora” and a member of the parliamentary working group preparing for elections, stated that no announcement about imminent elections would be made on February 24.

By Tamilla Hasanova