"Goal Is To Finish War": Zelensky Says Ready To Leave Presidency After Peace

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he would be ready to step down after the war with Russia is over. In an interview with Axios on Thursday, he said, "If we finish the war with the Russians, yes, I am ready not to go (for elections) because it's not my goal, elections".

Zelensky explained that he wanted to help Ukraine during the war and his only goal right now is to finish the war. He also said that he would ask the parliament to hold elections if a ceasefire was reached.

Speaking to Axios, he said that, "During the ceasefire, I think security can give the possibility to have elections. It can be so."

The president of Ukraine, a former comedian, was elected in 2019, and although an election was due in 2024, it was suspended because of martial law after Russia's invasion in February 2022.

As a result, Russia has constantly questioned the Ukrainian leader's legitimacy as a leader.

In August, during a high-profile Oval Office meeting with US President Donald Trump, Zelensky reiterated that elections will be held in Ukraine once peace is restored. "We need to work in parliament because during the war you can't have elections," and said that it was needed for people to have a possible democratic, open, legal election.

Zelensky said that Ukraine was seeking long-range weapons from the US and if Moscow does not end the war, Russian officials working at the Kremlin should know where the nearest bomb shelter is.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev responded to the threat by Zelensky on social media by saying, "Russia could use weapons that a bomb shelter wouldn't protect against. And the Americans should remember this."

A poll conducted at the start of September by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology showed that about 59% of Ukrainians trusted Zelensky. About 34% of those polled did not trust him, according to a report by Reuters.