Kyiv, Ukraine – The Ukrainian parliament has adopted a resolution affirming the legitimacy of Volodymyr Zelenskyy as president and confirming that the elections are only possible after the end of the war.
The resolution is a rebuff for US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who both suggested that Zelenskyy is illegitimate because he did not have an elections during the war with Russia.
Parliament adopted the resolution of the second attempt, after a first vote on Monday failed to obtain sufficient support.
A woman heads in front of the Convent of St. Iveron, which was strongly damaged by artillery and firearms during the battles of local airport during the conflict of Russia-Ukraine, in Donetsk, A Russian region controlled in Ukraine on February 25, 2025.
Alexander Eroshenko / Reuters
Zelenskyy said on Sunday that he would resign if it meant peace for his country, adding that he would also do so if it meant that Ukraine would be granted by NATO.
Parliament noted Tuesday that Zelenskyy was elected in legitimate elections and that his mandate has no doubt. He also said that no election can be held until the martial law was lifted after the arrival of a “just and lasting peace”.
Zelenskyy was elected in a landslide in 2019, but his mandate expired last May. Ukraine is under martial law which, under its constitution, prohibits the holding of elections.
In this document photo taken and published by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on February 24, 2025, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky attends a meeting with the European leaders of kyiv.
Ukrainian / AFP presidential press service via Getty Images
Most Ukrainians, including the main opposition parties, agree that the holding of credible elections in the middle of the war is not possible because millions of people are abroad as refugees, hundreds of thousands are fighting.
An election could also be an opportunity for Russia to divide the country as it tries to defend itself.
