Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected calls from U.S. President Donald Trump for a change in Ukraine’s leadership, saying the country’s people must decide who governs them. He also said Ukraine could organize national elections if Russia agreed to a complete 60-day ceasefire.
In a televised interview with ABC News on Sunday, Zelensky addressed questions about holding elections during the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He said he had explained to U.S. officials the conditions under which Ukraine could hold its first national elections since the invasion.
“First of all, with all respect to President Trump, it’s up to our society, up to our people to choose one or another leader,” Zelensky said.
He then outlined what he said would be necessary to make an election possible, calling on Washington to press Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a temporary halt in the fighting.
“Please tell Putin give us two months, 60 days of total ceasefire, 60 days, and we will organise elections,” Zelensky said.
The remarks came amid growing disagreements between Washington and Kyiv over how to end the war and manage the economic consequences of the conflict. Trump has criticized Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil refineries, arguing that strikes on energy facilities add to pressure on global fuel supplies. He has also suggested that Ukraine should have a different leader who could reach a settlement with Moscow.
The dispute has also intensified following a U.S. decision to waive sanctions on significant quantities of Russian diesel in an effort to ease domestic fuel costs ahead of the upcoming U.S. midterm elections. The move has drawn criticism from Ukrainian officials, European allies and some members of the U.S. Republican Party.
Zelensky stressed that Ukraine still depends on continued support from the United States and its European partners to resist Russia’s military campaign. He said preventing further Russian aggression and ending the war should remain shared priorities for Kyiv’s allies.
“To stop Putin, and I think this is the main goal, to stop him, this is the main deal, to stop this war … we count on American support,” Zelensky said. He added that Ukraine was also relying on its European partners and hoped the United States and Europe would maintain a united position.
Alongside his comments on elections and Western support, Zelensky said Kyiv remained willing to pursue a limited ceasefire covering energy infrastructure, provided Russia agreed to the same conditions. Such an arrangement would require both sides to halt attacks on designated energy facilities.
However, he pointed to the latest Russian bombardments as evidence that Moscow had not yet faced sufficient pressure to bring the fighting to an end. Zelensky said the week had been particularly difficult for Ukraine because of what he described as extensive Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure.
“This week was very difficult for us, not only geopolitically. First of all, because of massive attacks, Russian attacks on our civilian infrastructure,” he said.
His proposal for a 60-day ceasefire places the question of elections directly alongside the broader diplomatic effort to end the war. While Zelensky has indicated that Ukraine could hold a vote under those conditions, his remarks do not establish that Russia has agreed to the proposed pause in hostilities.
The exchange with Trump also highlights a central disagreement over Ukraine’s political future. Zelensky maintains that the choice of the country’s leader belongs to Ukrainian voters, while Trump has publicly questioned the current leadership and called for a different approach to securing a settlement with Russia.
