Volodymyr Zelensky. Photo: EPA-EFE/UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE HANDOUT

Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has passed a resolution extending the mandate of President Volodymyr Zelensky until martial law is lifted, Rada deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak wrote on Tuesday.

Some 286 deputies voted in support of the resolution, with no abstentions or votes against, Zheleznyak said.

The resolution confirmed that it was currently impossible to hold free and fair elections in Ukraine because of the war, for which it held Vladimir Putin liable, adding that the Verkhovna Rada declared on behalf of the Ukrainian people that presidential elections would be held as soon as a “comprehensive, fair and sustainable peace” was ensured.

Zelensky was elected president of Ukraine in free and fair elections, the resolution said, with deputies underlining that neither the Ukrainian people nor the Verkhovna Rada questioned the legitimacy of Zelensky’s current mandate. The resolution went on to state that the country’s constitution demanded that Zelensky remain in power until a new president takes office.

The Verkhovna Rada first put the resolution to the vote on Monday, the third anniversary of the start of the war, when it was supported by 218 deputies, short of the required minimum of 226 votes for a vote to pass.

Zelensky was elected president in 2019, and fresh elections were due to be held in 2024, but were postponed due to the war. The Kremlin has since repeatedly used Kyiv’s decision to postpone elections to dispute Zelensky’s legitimacy, with Putin saying in December that while Russia would “talk to anyone, including Zelensky”, it could only sign agreements with “those who are legitimate”, namely the Verkhovna Rada and its speaker.

US President Donald Trump echoed the Kremlin’s claims last week, calling Zelensky a “dictator without elections”, while also suggesting that he had a very low approval rating.