Two Ukrainian opposition leaders have rejected the idea of holding elections while the country is at war.
According to foreign media, former president Petro Poroshenko and Yulia Tymoshenko said that elections should be held only when peace is established.
Their statements come after Donald Trump called Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "dictator without an election" because he has not held elections since Russia's invasion, a narrative often pushed by the Kremlin in an attempt to delegitimize the Ukrainian leader.
This is despite Zelenskyy winning nearly 75% of the vote in 2019, defeating Poroshenko, writes A2 CNN.
Members of Trump's inner circle are said to have held talks with Poroshenko and Tymoshenko.
The discussions focused on whether Ukraine could hold early presidential elections, according to Politico.
Ukraine's constitution does not allow for elections while the country is under martial law, and there would be severe challenges in getting people in occupied territories and soldiers on the front lines to vote in any case.
Poroshenko said on Telegram that elections should take place only after peace has been established, no later than 180 days after the end of the war.
Tymoshenko said her team was "talking to all our allies who can help secure a just peace as soon as possible" and said elections should not be held before this had been achieved. (A2 Televizion)
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