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Trump’s Special Envoy Witkoff believes elections in Ukraine are necessary

Meanwhile, the push for Ukrainian elections contradicts polling showing 69% of Ukrainians support Zelenskyy remaining in office until war’s end.
byOlena Mukhina
22/03/2025
3 minute read
A Ukrainian resident during elections. Source: ACC
Trump’s Special Envoy Witkoff believes elections in Ukraine are necessary

In an interview with Tucker Carlson, the US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, stated that elections in Ukraine are necessary and added that Kyiv has already agreed to hold them.

Ukraine’s martial law, in place since Russia’s 2022 war, legally prohibits elections. Over 69% of Ukrainians support Zelenskyy remaining in office until the war’s end, reflecting public resistance to elections under occupation and bombardment. Meanwhile, a 30-day energy ceasefire has not stopped Russian forces’ civilian targeting. For elections to occur, sustainable peace—not just pauses in strikes—must precede any vote. That means Russia and Ukraine must reach a peace deal.

“Yes, they have agreed to it. There will be elections in Ukraine. I think Zelenskyy is trying his best,” Witkoff said.

He also noted that the president of Ukraine is currently “in a very, very difficult situation.”

“He is up against the nuclear nation. And he is also up against a nation that has four times the population that he has. And so he is got to know that he is going to get ground down,” he said.

In his view, now is the best moment for Zelenskyy to make a deal, and Trump can “deliver him the best possible deal he will ever going to get.”

At the same time, Witkoff stated that Russia does not recognize Zelenskyy as a legitimate president and is, therefore, not ready to sign any agreement with him.

He said that “Russian-speaking” Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, and “two other regions” of Ukraine are the biggest obstacles to resolving the war started by Russia, adding that referendums held there showed that the overwhelming majority of people want to be under Russia’s control.

The Russian element behind California’s separatism movement

Russian-staged sham referendums in occupied Ukrainian territories, forcing residents to vote at gunpoint to legitimize annexation claims, have been widely condemned by the international community as illegal and devoid of legitimacy.

Armed soldiers accompanied poll workers, intimidating locals into supporting Russian annexation, with reports of threats and violence against those who refused to comply. Despite international rejection, Russia used these manipulated results to justify its illegal annexation of Ukrainian land, further entrenching the war and undermining any prospects for genuine peace negotiations.

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