KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials were expected to submit their latest peace proposals to United States negotiators on Wednesday, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky, who also said Ukraine would be ready for elections within three months if the partners can guarantee secure votes during the war and if its electoral law can be changed.
Zelensky was responding to comments by US President Donald Trump in which he questioned Ukraine’s democracy and suggested that Ukrainian leaders were using the war as an excuse not to hold elections.
Zelensky told reporters late Tuesday that he was “ready” for the election but would need help from the United States and possibly Europe to ensure security for the vote. He suggested that if the provisions were met, Ukraine could be ready to hold the vote in 60 to 90 days.
Zelensky said, “To hold elections, two issues should be addressed: primarily, security – how to hold them, under attacks, under missile attacks; and a question about our military – how they will vote.”
“And the second issue is the legislative framework needed to ensure the validity of elections,” he said.
Earlier, Zelensky had pointed out that voting could not take place legally if martial law was imposed due to Russia’s invasion nearly four years ago. He has also asked how a vote can take place when civilian areas of Ukraine are being bombed by Russia and about 20% of the country is under Russian occupation.
Zelensky said he has asked his party’s lawmakers in parliament to prepare a legislative proposal that would allow elections in Ukraine under martial law.
Ukrainians have, by and large, supported Zelensky’s arguments, and there has been no outcry for the election in Ukraine. Under the law in force in Ukraine, Zelensky’s regime is legal.
But with Trump pressing hard for an agreement between Kiev and Moscow, Zelensky is walking a tightrope between protecting Ukrainian interests and showing the US president he is willing to make some compromises.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly complained that Zelensky cannot legitimately negotiate a peace deal as his five-year term, which began in 2019, expires.
Trump echoed Moscow’s stance in an interview with Politico, saying, “I think this is an important time to call an election. They are using a war, not a call to call an election.”
A new US national security strategy released last Friday made it clear that Trump wants to improve US relations with Moscow and “re-establish strategic stability with Russia.”
The document also portrays European allies as weak.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov praised Trump’s role in the Ukraine peace effort in a speech to the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia’s parliament, on Wednesday, saying Moscow appreciated his “commitment to dialogue.” Lavrov said Trump is “the only Western leader” who shows “an understanding of the reasons that have made war in Ukraine inevitable.”
While Trump’s decisions are likely to be significant for Ukraine, Washington’s peace efforts face sharply conflicting demands from Moscow and Kiev.
Trump’s initial peace proposal was largely tilted toward Russia’s demands. To counter this, Zelensky has turned to his European supporters.
In recent days, Zelensky met the leaders of Britain, Germany and France in London and the heads of NATO and the EU in Brussels, before traveling to Rome for talks with the Italian prime minister and Pope Leo XIV.
Zelensky said three documents are being discussed with American and European partners – a 20-point framework document that is constantly changing, a document on security guarantees, and a document about Ukraine’s recovery.
However, Europe’s support has been uneven, and has meant a decline in military aid since the Trump administration this year cut off supplies to Kiev unless they were paid for by other NATO countries.
A German organization that tracks international aid to Ukraine said on Wednesday that foreign military aid to Ukraine declined sharply over the summer and that the trend continued through September and October.
Average annual aid between 2022-2024, mostly provided by the US and Europe, was about 41.6 euros billion ($48.4 billion). But Ukraine has received only 32.5 billion euros ($37.8 billion) so far this year, the Kiel Institute said.
It added, “If this slowing continues in the remaining months (of the year), 2025 will become the year with the lowest levels of new aid allocations since the war began.”
According to the Kiel Institute, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden have significantly increased their aid to Ukraine this year, while Germany has almost tripled its average monthly allocation and France and the UK have both more than doubled their contributions.
On the other hand, it said, Spain recorded no new military aid to Kiev in 2025, while Italy reduced its contribution by 15% over 2022-2024.
