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President Volodymyr Zelensky said in remarks made public Sunday that it would be too dangerous for Ukraine to hold an election while it fights Russia, after a call by his former defence minister to organise a vote.<\/strong><\/p>\n Ukraine has suspended elections under martial law, a measure still widely supported by the population as the country focuses on fighting off the Russian invasion launched in 2022.<\/p>\n The Ukrainian leader \u2014 a former TV comedian elected in 2019 \u2014 has previously faced calls both from Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump to stage a vote, even as Moscow rains down missiles and drones across the country on a daily basis.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe that in a war like this, elections as such are a huge risk. Elections right now are a tsunami for the country that will split Ukraine,\u201d Zelensky said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we want to destroy the country, then we can move in the direction of elections during these times of war,\u201d added the 48-year-old.<\/p>\n He made the comments Saturday in a briefing with journalists including AFP.<\/p>\n Kyiv has been engulfed in a political crisis over the summer, triggered when Zelensky fired popular defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov.<\/p>\n Thousands took to the streets to demand his reinstatement, while Fedorov issued blistering attacks against the army\u2019s top brass.<\/p>\n The row forced Zelensky to sack his commander-in-chief.<\/p>\n Then days ago, the ousted Fedorov made a surprise call to find a way to organise elections.<\/p>\n He did not state explicitly that he wanted to challenge Zelensky, but the shock move made even some of his supporters distance themselves.<\/p>\n Experts have cited a flurry of obstacles to staging elections.<\/p>\n They include how soldiers, millions of Ukrainian refugees and people from occupied territories would cast their ballots, as well as the threat of both interference and physical attacks from Russia.<\/p>\n Only 15 percent of Ukrainians believe elections should be held before the end of hostilities, according to an opinion poll.<\/p>\n Zelensky, while having faced increasing pockets of criticism domestically as the war drags on, is still largely popular.<\/p>\n Zelensky hit out at his potential rival with numerous jabs during the briefing.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe he is going himself \u2014 or is being pushed \u2014 toward wrong things,\u201d Zelensky said of Fedorov.<\/p>\n The former minister was a prominent backer of the drone warfare strategy that has come to dominate Ukraine\u2019s war with Russia, and had pushed for army reforms \u2014 winning support among the public.<\/p>\n But openly calling for an election is a risky bet and could have knocked his standing.<\/p>\n Fedorov\u2019s team confirmed to AFP on Sunday he plans to visit the United States soon \u2014 a trip likely to revive speculation about whether he is positioning himself as a rival to Zelensky.<\/p>\n The domestic row comes amid an escalation in the war.<\/p>\n Moscow has intensified its strikes, using hard-to-intercept ballistic missiles that expose Ukraine\u2019s air defence shortfall.<\/p>\n Ukraine, meanwhile, has accelerated its own campaign of long-range strikes on Russian energy and logistics sites \u2014 including oil refineries and retail warehouses.<\/p>\n Zelensky said deliveries of crucial interceptor missiles for US Patriot air defence systems \u2014 which can shoot down Russia\u2019s ballistic missiles \u2014 had halved since 2023.<\/p>\n\u00a0Missile deficit<\/h2>\n