US President Donald Trump repeatedly speaks out in favor of elections in Ukraine. In doing so, he is playing into Vladimir Putin’s hands.
Dec 10, 2025, 05:56Dec 10, 2025, 05:56
Christoph Cöln / t-online
If the US and Europe ensure security, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is ready to hold elections within 60 to 90 days, even during the ongoing war with Russia. “I personally have the will and willingness to do this,” the head of state told journalists, as the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported. In addition to the security issue, the electoral law also needs to be adjusted. He therefore asked the members of his group to prepare appropriate changes to the law.
The Ukrainian law on martial law so far expressly prohibits the holding of presidential, parliamentary and local elections. The law can be changed, but the constitution does not provide for parliamentary elections until martial law is lifted. Constitutional amendments are prohibited during martial law.
There have been no elections in Ukraine since the Russian invasion of 2022. The president’s regular term expired in May 2024 and that of parliament in August 2024. Local elections should have taken place at the end of October 2025.
There are concerns in Ukraine that Russia could manipulate elections in the neighboring country and bring a puppet government loyal to the Kremlin to power. The question of how participation of all Ukrainians eligible to vote in the election can be guaranteed is also unclear. According to the UN, more than 5.8 million Ukrainians have fled the country. Several million Ukrainian citizens live in the territories occupied by Russia.
Not a Ukrainian peculiarity
The fact that there can be no new elections under the current martial law is not a Ukrainian peculiarity, but is common practice in many countries around the world – including Germany, for example. Article 115h of the German Basic Law stipulates that an electoral period of the Bundestag only ends six months after the end of the defense situation if it would otherwise expire in time of war. There is also a six-month delay in the terms of office of members of the Federal Constitutional Court, and in the case of the Federal President even nine months.
US President Trump had previously spoken out in favor of holding elections in the war-torn country. Months ago, he accused Zelenskyj that the Ukrainian head of government was a “dictator” and not democratically legitimate – with which the US President almost literally adopted the Kremlin’s style. Putin has been talking about a “fascist regime” in Kiev for years, and since May 2024 he has accused Zelensky of being in office without legitimacy. At that time, the Ukrainian’s original five-year regular term of office had expired.
In an interview with Politico magazine published on Tuesday, Trump again adopted the Kremlin’s narrative that Russian troops were hopelessly outnumbered in Ukraine and that Kiev’s defeat was, in a sense, only a matter of time. “Russia clearly has the upper hand,” said Trump. Zelenskyj must now finally “play the ball,” said the US President with a view to the peace negotiations.
Putin successfully establishes his narrative
Moscow is demanding extensive cessions of territory and other concessions from Ukraine that affect the country’s territorial integrity. Trump is once again playing into this plan by virtually declaring Ukraine the loser of the war. “I pay great tribute to the people of Ukraine and the Ukrainian military for their courage, their fighting spirit and all that,” he said in the interview.
“But you know, at some point the bigger guy will prevail, that’s completely normal.”
While the USA under the right-wing Trump administration is increasing the pressure on Ukraine and Europe, Vladimir Putin sees his goals within his grasp in the attack on the neighboring country that he ordered, which violates international law. According to analyzes by experts, the Kremlin has recently been able to increasingly establish the narrative that Russian troops in Donbass are on the verge of conquering the region. However, not only Western military analysts contradict this, but also Russian war bloggers.
«We do not believe that Ukraine is losing. “If Russia was so powerful, it could have ended the war within 24 hours,” a European diplomat told Politico.
«And if she [die USA] If you are convinced that Russia will win, what does that mean – just give them everything? This is not a sustainable peace. They reward the Russians for their aggression, and they will strive for more – not only in Ukraine, but also in Europe.”
Trump: “No more democracy”
«Russia undoubtedly insists that we give up territory. But we don’t want to give up anything. This is what we are fighting for,” Zelensky told reporters late on Monday evening. Furthermore, the Ukrainian constitution does not allow the president to make concessions about the country’s territorial integrity. A constitutional change would first be needed for a territorial abandonment in the interests of Moscow, as well as for new elections.
In the midst of this situation, Trump said an astonishing sentence about Ukraine in the “Politico” interview:
“You talk about a democracy, but at some point it is no longer a democracy.”
The once largest ally of the attacked country accuses the Zelensky government of no longer being a democracy. These statements cause deep concern among European politicians.
Donald Trump sees democracy in Ukraine under threat.Image: keystone
The majority of Ukrainians are against new elections
In new elections, the Ukrainian president would only receive four percent, he claimed at the time. But according to the latest survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, around 20 percent of Ukrainians would vote for Zelensky if elected. However, only 22 percent of Ukrainians currently support new elections. But it is also a fact that the Ukrainian president’s popularity has suffered greatly since the last corruption scandals. Nevertheless, in polls Zelensky is still just ahead of the very popular former commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian troops, Valeriy Zalushny.
The Russian exile newspaper “The Moscow Times” considers the call for new elections to be a well-known pattern of Putin. It corresponds to the authoritarian self-image of the Kremlin ruler. He despises democracy, but respects dictators because with them you can clarify things in private.
«Accordingly, the Russian leadership is projecting this view onto other countries, including Ukraine. She believes that Ukraine could end its military resistance if only Zelensky were replaced by someone else.”
Röttgen: “We’re being put in a tight spot”
The Trump interview now bursts into this dynamic. Experts do not see the timing of Trump’s calls for new elections in Ukraine as a coincidence. Not only Ukraine is currently politically weakened, Europe is also notoriously divided and unable to act. In view of the new US security doctrine under Trump, the German foreign expert Norbert Röttgen from the CDU only stated at the weekend that the USA was no longer on the side of the Europeans.
The goal of the Trump administration is to “influence our internal constitution according to the current ideological guidelines of the MAGA movement,” Röttgen told “Editorial Network Germany” (RND).
“We are being held in a pinch: on the one hand, Europe’s sovereignty is being attacked by war from Russia, and on the other hand, our democracy is being put under pressure by the USA at home.”
Meanwhile, Zelensky continues to tour Europe tirelessly. On Tuesday, the Ukrainian president was introduced to Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and then even to Pope Leo at his residence in Castel Gandolfo. There was little left for him to do other than emphasize the “need to continue the dialogue” and express his desire for a just and lasting peace.
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