Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday reiterated his desire to hold presidential elections in 2024, as planned before the start of the Russian invasion, but he stressed that it is the Ukrainians themselves who “do not support” the project. idea.

During his visit to Canada, the Ukrainian president indicated that he was willing to call elections, but said that Ukrainians did not seem committed to holding them because they “don’t want to spend money on matters other than military. security” amid invasion. Russian from Ukraine.

In this sense, he regretted that the war “makes it difficult for the inhabitants and soldiers of the occupied territories to go and vote”. “I am ready for elections, but Ukrainian society does not support this idea,” he said at a press conference.

In early September, Zelensky himself opened the door to the possibility of holding elections, but acknowledged that it was difficult to guarantee Ukrainians voting in Russian-controlled territories.

“The most important thing is what to do with the temporarily occupied territories. There are those who have been under occupation since February 24. They are also Ukrainians,” he declared then, while specifying that both the citizens of the territories under Russian control that those who left the country because of the conflict must be able to vote.

Zelensky previously said the vote could go ahead if Western allies “help them move forward”, while one of his top advisers, Mikhailo Podoliak, ruled out the possibility.

“The president sees the situation absolutely realistically, unlike many people who behave a little strangely. They think that there are two Ukraines: one at war and the other which can do what “she has been pursuing her career for 33 years,” he said.

The Ukrainian population should be called to the polls on March 31, 2024 – and on April 21 in a hypothetical second round – to choose a new president. However, following the Russian invasion, martial law prevailed in the country, under which the holding of elections was prohibited.

Zelensky is on an official visit to Canada, a country he traveled to after visiting the United Nations General Assembly in New York. This Friday, the Ukrainian president met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Thus, he stressed after his meeting with Trudeau that it is impossible to remain neutral in the face of “the war that Russia is waging against Ukraine”, since “the lack of aid to our country means the strengthening of Russia, which will then threaten other countries.”