Trump forces Zelensky to call elections before May 15 or he will not sign the security guarantees

Zelensky, who could announce the decision in one or two weeks, It has a deadline of May 15. A date that has been set by the US Government, according to the Financial Timesunder the threat of not signing the security guarantee agreement for kyiv and thus losing its greatest protection umbrella in the face of a hypothetical renewed aggression from Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

A few days ago the agency Reuters He detailed that any peace agreement would be submitted to a referendum by Ukrainian citizens. The call would also be used to renew confidence in Zelensky or elect a new president through new elections, despite the fact that The kyiv Constitution does not allow elections to be held under martial law.

The plan drawn up by Zelensky and his team is framed in the latest pressures exerted by the Trump Administrationwhich the Ukrainian president himself revealed last Friday, to sign all the documents before June and put an end to the longest war in Europe since World War II.

“They say they want to have everything ready by June… so that the war is over,” Zelensky explained, citing the White House’s desire to focus on the midterms November Americans. “And they want a clear timetable.”

Complicated logistics

The Ukrainian president has been repeating for months that holding elections under the current circumstances and without at least a ceasefire would be impossible since the country has millions of refugeestens of thousands of soldiers hold the extensive front line and around 20% of the territory is under Russian occupation.

According to the Financial Timeswhich cites European and Ukrainian sources familiar with the plan, Zelensky intends announce the electoral call and the referendum on February 24on the fourth anniversary of the start of the invasion by Putin’s forces. However, the schedule will be difficult to meet as it ultimately depends on the steps the Russian autocrat wants to take towards peace.

The Ukrainian president’s move, however, underlines the desire to maximize your re-election prospects -popular support has fallen in recent months due to corruption scandals and fatigue from four years of war- while telling Trump that kyiv is not the one who is creating impediments to the cessation of hostilities.

The Trump Administration has indicated to Ukraine that the security guarantee agreement, which according to Zelensky is “100% ready” for signature, depends on reaching a peace that, right now, contemplates the handover to Russia of the Donbas region. He FT points out that Washington has given until May 15 as the maximum deadline, although the US president has set other deadlines that he has never met.

Under the draft plan, Ukraine’s parliament would spend the months of March and April working on legal changes needed to allow voting under war conditions. Some voices in the Ukrainian political sphere have already expressed their rejection, such as Vitali Klitschkomayor of kyiv and rival of Zelensky: “The political pulse during the war is negative, we can destroy the country from within.”