Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that holding an election while the war with Russia continues could divide and “destroy” Ukraine. His comments were his first response to former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov’s call last week for an election during the conflict. Zelenskyy said moving toward elections in such conditions would be a way to destroy the country.

Ukrainian law prohibits elections during wartime, and analysts say conducting a vote under current conditions would be extremely difficult. Many Ukrainians are abroad because of the war, others live in Russian-occupied areas, and millions are serving on the front line, making broad voter participation difficult. Zelenskyy’s support remains around 60 percent, while pollsters say Ukrainians may want new political faces but have little interest in voting now.

A Kyiv International Institute of Sociology poll dated August 5 found that 57 percent of Ukrainians want elections only after the war ends. Zelenskyy said an election could be possible during the war if allies provided security guarantees, but no allied country has proposed such a plan. He said his strategy is to end the war and preserve Ukraine as an independent, sovereign state.