Volodymyr Zelenskyy Tells Donald Trump Only Ukrainians Can Change Their Leader

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Fox News in an interview that only Ukrainians can choose their leader. Responding to Donald Trump's repeated calls for elections in Ukraine, he said he would hold a vote once the country had at least 60 days of ceasefire.

The interview came after Trump said on Saturday that Ukraine should "get a new leader who can make a deal," Euronews reported. Trump also blamed Kyiv for high U.S. diesel prices. Zelenskyy did not accuse Trump of trying to remove him. He was answering an interviewer's question about the election push, and he put his reply as a conditional.

"The second point, if president Trump wants to change the leader in Ukraine, he has to know that only our people can change and I'm ready for elections," Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy Sets 60-Day Ceasefire Condition for Ukraine Elections

Zelenskyy said Ukraine cannot organize a vote while it is under constant bombardment.

"Really we need minimum 60 days for security of infrastructure to prepare elections," he said. "Now we have attacks each one hour."

He said Iranian Shahed drones strike Ukraine every hour. "We are speaking about thousands of drones, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, how people can vote," Zelenskyy said. "It's not even about the law. The law is very important, but we speak first of all about security."

He made the same offer in an ABC News interview on Sunday. In that interview he asked Washington to "tell Putin to give us two months, 60 days of total ceasefire, 60 days, and we will organise elections," according to Euronews.

On energy, Zelenskyy told Fox News: "If Russia will not attack our energy, we will not attack their energy." He also rejected Trump's diesel argument, saying "the prices on diesel, it doesn't depend on our attacks on diesel in Russia." Trump has declared an "ENERGY CEASEFIRE" on Truth Social. Zelenskyy told Axios the announcement was "news to me," ABC News Australia reported. Fuel costs remain a political problem for Trump at home, where PolitiKool's gas price tracker puts the national average at $4.35 a gallon.

What Ukrainian Law Says About Wartime Elections

Ukraine has been under martial law since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, and the Ukrainian constitution bans wartime elections, Al Jazeera reported. As a result, the presidential vote due in 2024 never took place.

Parliament has repeatedly extended martial law. On July 14, lawmakers voted 313 in favor of the 20th extension, a 90-day renewal that runs until October 31, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

Polls Show Most Ukrainians Oppose Elections During the War

The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) surveyed Ukrainians from September 12 to 21. Seventy-one percent said now is not the time for elections and 24 percent supported holding them before the fighting ends, Hromadske reported. In the same poll, 53 percent said Zelenskyy should not seek a second term, up from 46 percent in December 2025.

A separate KIIS question offers three options: elections now, after a ceasefire with security guarantees, or only after a final peace agreement. It shows the hardline position softening. The share choosing the last option fell from 69 percent in March to 57 percent in a survey fielded from July 20 to August 3, LIGA.net reported. Support for voting after a ceasefire with security guarantees rose from 13 percent to 23 percent over the same period.

A KIIS survey from January 2026 found 59 percent saying elections are only possible after the war concludes entirely, Euromaidan Press reported. That question was worded differently and is not directly comparable with the three-option figures.

Donald Trump's Election Demands Have Built for Months

Trump has pressed the point before. In December 2025 he said the situation "gets to a point where it's not a democracy any more." Zelenskyy answered then that he had "the will and readiness" for a vote if the United States and European allies helped secure it, Al Jazeera reported.

At the time, Zelenskyy said elections could follow within 60 to 90 days if security were guaranteed, Euromaidan Press reported. Ukraine's election commission has said it needs far longer to prepare.

What Happens Next

Zelenskyy put the decision on Moscow. "If they want to stop this war, they have to go to ceasefire," he said.

Martial law expires on October 31 unless parliament extends it again. Trump's energy truce is also untested: in his nightly address, Zelenskyy described continued Russian strikes, including one on a Kharkiv power and heating plant, ABC News Australia reported.