Ukraine will "reach a point" where it must hold elections in order to maintain the health of its democracy, Keith Kellogg, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, said on Feb. 6.
Kellogg previously said on Feb. 1 that Ukraine should aim to hold presidential and parliamentary elections by the end of the year.
"You're gonna reach a point where they're gonna have to have elections, and that's a sign of a healthy democracy," Kellogg said during an interview with Newsmax TV on Feb. 6.
"That doesn't mean (President Volodymyr) Zelensky should leave," he clarified.
Kellogg acknowledged that elections cannot take place immediately, as Ukraine's constitution prevents elections during martial law. Still, he asserted that the ability to hold a vote amid war indicated a well-functioning democracy.
"A sign of a healthy democracy is the willingness and the ability to have an election even in a time of war," he said.
Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, said on Feb. 4 that Ukraine will not hold elections until after Russia's full-scale war ends.
"We will be very happy if elections are held in Ukraine because it will mean that we have won this war," she said.
Under martial law, presidential, parliamentary, and local elections are banned in Ukraine. If martial law had not been imposed, a presidential election would have been held on March 31, 2024, and Zelensky's term would have ended on May 20, 2024.
Ukraine does not currently have the appropriate infrastructure or mechanisms to organize elections that guarantee all citizens' electoral and political rights, according to the Ukrainian Civil Network Opora.
The damage to Ukraine's electoral infrastructure stems in part from Russia's continued attacks.
Zelensky said on Jan. 2 that parliament can set a date for elections as soon as the hot stage of Russia's war ends and martial law is lifted.
Russian President Vladimir Putin — an autocratic leader who has held power in Russia for over 20 years — has sought to use Ukraine's delayed elections as a pretense to undermine Zelensky's legitimacy. The Kremlin-driven narrative has been repeated by far-right commentators in the U.S.
Kellogg, a retired general tasked with advancing Trump's plans to end the war, is expected to visit Ukraine later in February for talks with Ukrainian officials.
Kateryna Denisova
