Zelenskiy offers to hold Ukraine elections if Russia agrees to 60-day ceasefire

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has offered to hold national elections if Russia agrees to a total two-month ceasefire, hitting back at US President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Kyiv needs fresh leadership.

Speaking on ABC’s This Week on Sunday, Zelenskiy laid down the condition directly to Moscow and Washington. "Please tell Putin, give us two months, 60 days of total ceasefire, 60 days, and we will organise elections," he said.

The challenge followed remarks made a day earlier by Trump, who told reporters at the White House: "I think it's time for Ukraine to get a new president."

Zelenskiy dismissed the suggestion that foreign leaders could dictate his country's politics, saying that choosing Ukraine's leadership remains entirely a matter for its own citizens. He noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin had long harboured the exact same ambition to see him removed from power.

Clash over Russian fuel and refinery strikes

The public spat between the two leaders broke out following a dispute over Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian energy facilities.

Trump had lashed out at Zelenskiy on Saturday after Kyiv struck Russian oil refineries immediately after the US administration temporarily eased fuel sanctions against Moscow. The sanctions had originally been designed to choke off the revenue Kremlin planners rely on to finance the invasion of Ukraine.

Under an agreement outlined by Trump on Friday, Russia is set to supply over 300,000 metric tonnes of diesel to global and American markets — roughly 2.25 million barrels of fuel. The White House has faced mounting domestic pressure over pump prices in the run-up to November midterm elections that will determine control of the US Congress.

The fuel arrangement has drawn criticism from US lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including members of Trump's own Republican Party, who argued that lifting the penalties hands Moscow an unwarranted financial boost.

Energy infrastructure terms

Zelenskiy rejected accusations that Ukrainian operations against oil refineries were driving global petrol prices higher. He pointed out that disruptions in the Middle East were the primary driver of rising international energy costs.

He also signalled that Kyiv remains open to limiting its target list if Moscow does the same. Earlier on Sunday, Zelenskiy stated that Ukrainian forces would halt strikes against Russian refineries provided the Russian military stops bombarding Ukraine’s domestic power and energy grids.

Neither the Kremlin nor the White House has publicly responded to Zelenskiy’s demand for a two-month pause in fighting to facilitate voting. Ukrainian elections have been paused under martial law since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, with authorities citing the dangers of holding a nationwide ballot while millions are displaced and frontline regions face continuous bombardment.