Zelenskiy offers elections if Putin accepts 60-day ceasefire

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that Ukraine will hold elections if Russian President Vladimir Putin agrees to a 60-day ceasefire, responding to criticism from US President Donald Trump. “Please tell Putin, give us two months, 60 days of total ceasefire, 60 days, and we will organise elections,” he told ABC’s “This Week”. Trump said on Saturday that “it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president”. He accused Zelenskiy of harming global diesel supplies through strikes on Russian refineries. This came a day after Trump announced a deal to obtain diesel from Russia, reversing years of US pressure on Moscow. Zelenskiy linked the lifting of sanctions on Russian diesel to a Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia that killed 20 people, including three children. Trump has repeatedly pressed Zelenskiy to hold elections, although Ukraine’s constitution does not allow them under martial law. In February 2025 he called Zelenskiy a “dictator without elections”. Zelenskiy has made a 60-day ceasefire a condition before, saying in December 2025 that it was the minimum needed to arrange a referendum on a peace plan. Russia has not publicly answered his latest offer.