Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks after a video conference of European leaders with the US President on the Ukraine war. Photo: RALF HIRSCHBERGER / AFP
* Volodymyr Zelensky says he would order presidential elections and not seek office again once a ceasefire is in place.
* The Ukrainian president has been in office since 2019, with elections, due to take place last year, suspended as a result of Russia's ongoing invasion.
* Russia has sought to portray Zelensky's leadership as illegitimate, but the Ukrainian president remains popular domestically.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he would be ready to step down as the country's leader once the war with Russia is over.
The country's presidential elections, which were supposed to be held in 2024, were suspended in line with martial law after Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Speaking in a video interview with American news website Axios, Zelensky said he would organise elections if a ceasefire was reached.
"If we finish the war with the Russians, yes, I am ready not to go (for elections) because it's not my goal, elections," he said.
"I wanted very much, in a very difficult period of time, to be with my country, help my country. My goal is to finish the war."
Russia has repeatedly used the suspension of Ukraine's presidential elections to question Zelensky's legitimacy as leader.
But the Ukrainian president has nevertheless maintained a high level of public trust domestically.
A poll conducted at the start of September by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology showed that about 59 percent of Ukrainians trusted Zelensky, while about 34 percent of those polled did not trust him.
Kyiv seeks more long-range weapons
Zelensky's comments came during his visit to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he met US President Donald Trump.
Trump's remarks at the UN, in which he said that Ukraine was capable of reclaiming territory seized by Russia over the past three years, marked a significant shift from his previous stances on the war.
Among Zelensky's aims was to secure more weapons capable of striking deep inside Russia.
He said in his Axios interview that if Moscow refused to end the war, Russian officials working in the Kremlin should know where the nearest bomb shelter is.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who is deputy chairperson of Russia's Security Council and known for provocative statements, responded to Zelensky's taunt.
"Russia could use weapons that a bomb shelter wouldn't protect against. And the Americans should remember this," he wrote on social media.
As part of its war, Russia launches regular attacks on Ukraine, often involving hundreds of drones and missiles. Ukraine launches long-range drones of its own targeting military assets and energy infrastructure, though on a smaller scale.
On Thursday, Ukrainian officials reported some 30,000 properties were without power after further Russian strikes against electricity infrastructure.
The outages were reported in the city of Chernihiv.
-Reuters
