Ukraine is not ready to hold national elections while fighting against Russia, former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said in an interview broadcast on the LIGA.net news outlet's YouTube channel.
Klimkin stated that Ukraine remains unprepared for elections politically, organizationally, security-wise, and mentally. He argued that while legal mechanisms could theoretically be explored, holding genuinely free elections during wartime is impossible due to necessary restrictions on civil liberties.
Recalling diplomatic negotiations held in the Normandy Format during his tenure as foreign minister, Klimkin noted that representatives from Ukraine, Germany, France, and Russia discussed the Copenhagen criteria required for European Union accession. He said those talks established fair and free elections as the two fundamental benchmarks used to evaluate whether a vote is legitimate.
The Normandy Format was created in 2014 as a diplomatic framework bringing together Kyiv, Berlin, Paris, and Moscow to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine following Russia's initial military intervention. The Copenhagen criteria, defined by the European Council in 1993, set democratic, political, and legal standards that candidate nations must fulfill before joining the European Union. Klimkin explained that while conducting fair elections during wartime is extremely difficult but theoretically attemptable, holding free elections cannot be achieved when civil freedoms are restricted.
Russian election practices and political purges
Turning to political conditions inside Russia, Klimkin said Russian dictator Vladimir Putin operates within his own reality because Moscow has not officially declared war. He stated that Russian authorities had purged the political landscape and fabricated voting results for elections to the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament.
Klimkin detailed how Russian officials previously attempted to orchestrate political intrigue involving the liberal opposition party Yabloko. He said the scheme was devised and presented to Putin as a way to mobilize certain voters while suppressing others. However, as soon as officials realized the move created even minimal political risks, they completely purged Yabloko from the election. Klimkin added that someone likely lost their position over the mistake, describing such measures as standard practice within Russia's political system.
Legal considerations and US negotiations
In contrast to Russia, Klimkin emphasized that Ukraine exists in an entirely different political reality. He noted that from a legal perspective, Ukraine could consider holding elections during wartime if necessary. Under Ukrainian law and the country's constitution, national elections are prohibited while martial law remains in force following Russia's full-scale invasion. However, Klimkin concluded that organizing elections that are fair and free in every other sense remains impossible.
In the same broadcast, the former official stated that the United States might revisit the question of holding elections in Ukraine. He suggested that the topic could become a component of future negotiations between Washington and Moscow.
Debate over wartime elections in Kyiv
Klimkin's comments follow a recent video statement by former Ukrainian Defence Minister Fedorov, who publicly criticized elements of the Ukrainian state system. Fedorov voiced support for conducting elections even while war continues, despite current legislative prohibitions against wartime voting.
