Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Ukraine would organize a presidential election if Russian President Vladimir Putin agrees to a 60-day total ceasefire, turning a long-running demand from Washington into a concrete procedural offer days after U.S. President Donald Trump publicly questioned who should lead Kyiv.
In an interview with ABC's "This Week," Zelenskyy told co-anchor Jonathan Karl that holding a secure nationwide vote during active fighting is "really difficult" under Ukraine's constitution and security law. But he added that if Trump wants Ukrainians to choose their leader at the ballot box, the first step is a pause in shooting long enough to protect polling sites and voters.
What Zelenskyy proposed on the calendar
"Please tell Putin, give us two months, 60 days of total ceasefire, 60 days, and we will organize elections," Zelenskyy said. He stressed that any outcome would be "exactly Ukrainian people's" choice, not one imposed from abroad.
The remark lands in a week when Trump has mixed pressure on Kyiv with outreach to Moscow. On Friday, Trump announced a framework for the United States to purchase Russian diesel to ease domestic fuel prices, a move Ukrainian and several European officials said could help finance Russia's war machine. On Sunday, Trump separately posted on social media that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an "energy ceasefire," without publishing terms or a start time.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine is ready to stop long-range strikes on Russian refineries if Moscow halts attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. "Don't attack us. Don't kill our children. We will stop attack your diesel," he told ABC, describing the trade as fair though not as good as ending the war outright.
How this intersects with Trump's leadership critique
Trump has repeatedly suggested Ukraine needs new leadership, framing Zelenskyy's tenure as an obstacle to a settlement. Zelenskyy pushed back on that premise while leaving room for diplomacy: "With all respect to President Trump, it's up to our society, up to our people to choose one or another leader."
He also said Putin has long wanted to change Ukraine's president and that he had shared his election proposal with Trump's team. Zelenskyy told Axios earlier Sunday that he was surprised by Trump's energy-ceasefire announcement but would accept it if Russia does as well and Washington supplies details.
Fighting continues as diplomats talk
The interview aired as both sides kept up long-range strikes. Associated Press reporting on Sunday said a Ukrainian drone attack shut down a data center operated by Russian technology giant Yandex, the third such strike on company facilities in four days. In southern Ukraine, officials said search-and-rescue work had ended in Zaporizhzhia after Russian bombardment on Saturday.
Zelenskyy said on social media that he discussed Trump's energy-ceasefire post with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, underscoring that any U.S.-brokered pause would need allied coordination and verification.
What happens next
Russia has not publicly accepted either a 60-day full ceasefire or the narrower energy truce Trump described. Ukrainian officials have said elections during martial law require legal changes and international security guarantees, not just a verbal pledge.
For now, Zelenskyy's 60-day offer gives mediators a specific number to test: whether Moscow will trade a sustained halt in fire for a wartime vote Trump has said he wants to see. If Putin refuses, Kyiv is likely to argue that Washington's pressure on Ukrainian leadership is misplaced while Russian missiles and glide bombs keep falling on cities.