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What Trump's election demand meant for Kyiv
Summary
A retrospective on 20 February 2025, after days in which Washington pressed for a Ukrainian vote and Moscow welcomed its talks with the US.
What did Kyiv face on 20 February 2025? The day came after a run of statements from Washington and Moscow that put Ukraine's leadership under pressure while peace talks went on without it at the centre.
On 18 February, US President Donald Trump called for a new presidential election to be held in Ukraine as part of a peace deal with Russia. The next day, 19 February, he called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "dictator", said he had done a "terrible job" and warned that he was not going to have a country left soon. The remarks came amid deteriorating relations between the two countries.
Why an election was not simple
Ukraine's last presidential election had been scheduled for March or April 2024. None was held, because martial law has been in effect since 24 February 2022 and Ukrainian law does not allow presidential elections while it applies. Parliament has extended martial law in 90-day intervals. Later, it was extended for the 20th time, until 31 October 2026.
Moscow's view of the talks
Also on 19 February, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the high-level talks between Russia and the United States in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He described them as a "first step" towards restoring full diplomatic ties with the United States.
Taken together, the reports from 18 and 19 February show two tracks moving in different directions. Washington and Moscow were talking about better relations, while the US president was publicly criticising Ukraine's president and calling for an election that Ukrainian law, under martial law, did not permit.
