Zelenskyy denies Ukrainian role in Nord Stream bombings and rejects calls for a wartime election
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The Facts
- Zelenskyy said wartime elections are a "huge risk" and a "tsunami for the country that will split Ukraine."
- Zelenskyy made the remarks in a briefing with a group of journalists in Kyiv on Saturday, released publicly on Sunday.
- Ukrainian law bars national elections while martial law is in force, imposed after Russia's February 2022 invasion.
- Dismissed defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov publicly called last week for Ukraine to organise a presidential election during the war.
- Fedorov's demand was the first public call for a wartime vote by a major Ukrainian political figure since the 2022 invasion.
- Fedorov's dismissal last month was followed by mass protests in Ukraine.
- Zelenskyy said Russia could mobilise an additional 300,000 troops after its parliamentary elections.
- Zelenskyy said Ukraine faces a growing shortage of Patriot air-defence missiles as Western deliveries decline.
Context
What do German prosecutors allege about the Nord Stream bombings?
German prosecutors allege the 2022 attacks on the undersea pipelines were ordered by the Ukrainian state Guardian. A Ukrainian man was arrested in Croatia on Wednesday on suspicion of taking part, and prosecutors say he collaborated with another Ukrainian man arrested in Italy in 2025 Guardian. Zelenskyy said Germany was "well aware that Ukraine did not stand behind the execution or the very conception of this operation" Guardian.
Why has Ukraine not held elections since 2022?
Martial law was imposed after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, and Ukrainian law bars national elections while it remains in force, postponing both presidential and parliamentary votes India Today,Deutsche Welle. Zelenskyy's five-year term formally ended in May 2024, but he has continued in office under the wartime legal framework India Today. Several outlets report the suspension retains broad public support Al Jazeera Online,NewsMax.
What else did Zelenskyy say in the briefing?
He described Fedorov's actions, including joining protests and calling for elections, as misguided, and said inaccurate Defence Ministry information contributed to an awkward exchange with US President Donald Trump over Starlink use in Russia India Today,Yahoo! Finance,Firstpost. He also addressed pressure on the defence budget, a corruption probe and peace negotiations India Today, and said Ukraine expects 30 billion euros from the EU against a $27bn defence budget shortfall Bluewin.ch.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- Ukrainian law bars a vote under martial law, and neither read treats that bar as fake or the wartime risks Zelenskyy cites as invented — Fedorov offered no roadmap either.
- Where Left and Right split
- Left and right split on whether martial law settles Ukraine's election question or Kyiv still owes a path back.
- Why they won’t converge
- This is a values divide over what legitimacy is made of — renewed consent versus the state's capacity to hold a country together under fire — so agreeing that the law bars a vote and the front is dangerous settles nothing.
How left and right read it
A country under invasion does not owe anyone a ballot it cannot lawfully or safely hold. Ukrainian law bars national elections under martial law, and Zelenskyy is right that a wartime vote is a tsunami that would split the country — particularly with an additional 300,000 Russian troops possible and Patriot interceptors running short as Western deliveries fall. The burden sits on those demanding the vote. Judge Kyiv on the war it is fighting and the accusations it denies, not on an election it is barred from holding.
“German prosecutors allege the Nord Stream bombings were ordered by the Ukrainian state. Zelenskky has always denied his country's involvement.” — The Guardian
A government's legitimacy rests on consent that can be renewed, so the question of when Ukrainians vote again cannot stay permanently unanswered. Fedorov's call is the first from a major figure since 2022, and the mass protests that followed his dismissal show the demand is not his alone — yet he offered no roadmap, which is exactly what a serious push requires. The martial-law bar is law, but law written by Ukrainians can be revisited by Ukrainians. A credible path back to the ballot is owed.
“The ousted Fedorov this week made a surprise call to find a way to organise elections -- but without offering a roadmap, and prompting even some of his supporters to distance themselves from him.” — NewsMax
Both sides accept the wartime bar is real law. They part on whether real law is an answer or a placeholder.
The receipts — all 81 sources
Wire services (12)
Independent coverage (50)
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