Ukraine’s president rules out holding elections next spring and calls for unity in fighting Russia

By ILLIA NOVIKOV and HANNA ARHIROVA
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ruled out a presidential vote next spring and is urging his countrymen to avoid political divides, saying the country must concentrate all its resources on fighting Russian aggression. Zelenskyy’s comments in a video address late Monday follow discussions about the possibility of holding a presidential vote in March. Zelenskyy was elected for a five-year term in March 2019 and had previously avoided definitive statements on whether the country should hold an election. His associates had said he was pondering various possibilities. Zelenskyy has rejected an assessment from Ukrsain’es military chief that the war has grown into a stalemate and warned against political rifts and emphasized the need for national unity.