{"id":1356901,"date":"2026-02-12T12:32:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T10:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/elections-who-needs-these-fairy-tales\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T04:40:46","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T02:40:46","slug":"elections-who-needs-these-fairy-tales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/elections-who-needs-these-fairy-tales\/","title":{"rendered":"Elections? Who Needs Fairy Tales Anyway?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Source: Author&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/viktor.shlinchak\/posts\/pfbid0UQqDzJPf3AmpiJdfDe1u3RFyWDBdJ8KXZromP8FfsbWYAMgoLNigGfHF4TppHTyHl?locale=uk_UA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Facebook<\/a> page<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>The hype over potential May elections hasn\u2019t just fueled conspiracy theories\u2014it\u2019s a stark reminder of how predictable politics can feel in a country still mired in war and in a world that seems increasingly scripted.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Is there logic in preparing for the elections and the political process, which under normal security conditions would not be a whim of the President&#8217;s Office or a demand of Western partners, but a completely natural step\u2014a return to electoral normality, political competition, and the realization of the right of Ukrainians to free expression of their will?<\/p>\n<p>These are basic things. They don&#8217;t need to be explained to my audience.<\/p>\n<p>But it&#8217;s a completely different matter\u2014how stubbornly the idea is imposed on us that elections can be held right now. That everyone is already off to a low start, and Ukrainians will go to the polls on May 15.<\/p>\n<p>It seems that the players pushing for elections in Ukraine have completely defied expectations.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s be honest\u2014both Russia and the US, when talking about the elections in Ukraine, hope that Zelensky will no longer be president. Both in Moscow and in Washington, different motives. We can guess about them. In the Office of the President, of course, they think differently\u2014and the last words of Volodymyr Oleksandrovych, that he &#8220;will still think about whether to run,&#8221; indicate that the issue is not closed.<\/p>\n\t\t<aside class=\"shortcode-also\" data-title=\"Read also\" >\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/elections-and-referendum-in-ukraine-is-this-really-what-trump-is-demanding\/\">Elections and referendum in Ukraine: is this really what Trump is demanding?<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\n<p>According to my information, the US understands that the only one who can really win the elections in these conditions\u2014a short election campaign\u2014is Zelensky. And that is why Washington has not insisted on their urgent holding in recent months.<\/p>\n<p>But why does the OP believe that the &#8220;formula for early elections&#8221; will be acceptable to Moscow?<\/p>\n<article class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none [--shadow-height:45px] has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none has-data-writing-block:-mt-(--shadow-height) has-data-writing-block:pt-(--shadow-height) [&amp;:has([data-writing-block])&gt;*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-(--header-height)\" dir=\"auto\" tabindex=\"-1\" data-turn-id=\"007439b3-2281-4406-b076-f87d4a9f0ad3\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-33\" data-scroll-anchor=\"false\" data-turn=\"user\"><\/article>\n<article class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none [--shadow-height:45px] has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none has-data-writing-block:-mt-(--shadow-height) has-data-writing-block:pt-(--shadow-height) [&amp;:has([data-writing-block])&gt;*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" tabindex=\"-1\" data-turn-id=\"request-WEB:af86d40b-71f2-492c-b5a8-b40112da53d1-16\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-34\" data-scroll-anchor=\"true\" data-turn=\"assistant\">\n<div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-10 [--thread-content-margin:--spacing(4)] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:--spacing(6)] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:--spacing(16)] px-(--thread-content-margin)\">\n<div class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\" tabindex=\"-1\">\n<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col grow\">\n<div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-1\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"3800aa9b-6b59-4ecb-a2b5-488bff87d0b0\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-mini\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden first:pt-[1px]\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert w-full wrap-break-word light markdown-new-styling\">\n<p data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"189\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">I would venture to suggest that even if there are signs of negotiations and Moscow supposedly \u201cfreezes the front,\u201d it could be a dangerous trap\u2014a \u201cdivorce\u201d that might cost Ukraine dearly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p>I wrote last year: one of Russia&#8217;s strategic tasks is to sow chaos inside our rear and then mobilize resources and strike precisely when society&#8217;s attention is unfocused. The best way to do this is at the peak of the election campaign, when politics, not the army and not security, will become the No. 1 topic.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, even if Russia allows time for elections, we need to think a hundred times over about what kind of pig in a poke it is trying to sell us. The enemy&#8217;s task during this period of time is not to strengthen us but, on the contrary, to weaken us. Perhaps this is the ultimate goal, which involves early elections and a referendum.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, &#8220;emergency elections&#8221; may create additional problems rather than solve existing ones.<\/p>\n\t\t<aside class=\"shortcode-also\" data-title=\"Read also\" data-right>\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/the-52-plan-why-is-the-government-in-such-a-hurry-with-the-elections\/\">The 52% Plan: Why is the government in such a hurry with the elections?<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\n<p>Two more words about the referendum. It can become even more explosive than the topic of elections. The decisions of the referendum are not binding. But even theoretical discussions that touch on the issue of territorial integrity are precisely the topic that can drive a wedge into the public debate and become a dangerous trigger for various target groups, including the military.<br \/>\nI understand that the game of appealing to the domestic political audience has begun again. Notice how opinion leaders are now helping to \u201cinflate\u201d Kirill Budanov\u2019s trust rating (even though it remains organically high). At the same time, look at how they are \u201cdowngrading\u201d Zaluzhny. Observe the dominance of billboards with generally correct slogans from military units. This isn\u2019t really about elections, is it?<br \/>\nBut I constantly repeat, albeit banally, but obviously, we still have to live until the elections. And the main thing is to hold them in a way that no one feels ashamed of\u2014not for the procedure, and certainly not for the outcome.<br \/>\nThere will be no such elections this year.<\/p>\n<p>As a reminder, Western media previously reported that the US demanded elections in Ukraine be held by May 15. Moreover, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was allegedly planning to announce presidential elections along with a referendum on the peace agreement on February 24. However, sources on Bankova have denied this information.<\/p>\n<p><em>Meanwhile, <a href=\"https:\/\/prm.ua\/bilshist-ukraintsiv-ne-pidtrymuiut-vybory-pid-chas-viyny-opytuvannia\/\">more than 55% of Ukrainians are against holding elections before the end of the war<\/a>, according to a survey conducted by New Image Marketing Group. The idea of holding elections before the end of the war is generally approved by 36.5%: of these, 19% completely support it, and 17.5% rather support it. Overall, 55.5% are against it: 28.5% completely oppose it, and 27% are somewhat opposed. Another 8% were unable to answer.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Also, follow <strong>\u201cPryamyi\u201d<\/strong> on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pryamiy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Facebook<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/prm_ua\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">X<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/+rtV4dxYu2_cyNjVi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Telegram<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/pryamiy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Instagram.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><em>\u2022 Materials published in the \u201cOPINIONS\u201d section reflect the opinion of the author of the publication, who bears full responsibility for the accuracy of the information.<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><em>\u2022 The editorial staff of prm.ua may not share the opinions expressed in the author&#8217;s material.<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><em>\u2022 The owner of the webpage in the \u201cOPINIONS\u201d section is the author of the publication.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Source: Author&#8217;s Facebook page The hype over potential May elections hasn\u2019t just fueled conspiracy theories\u2014it\u2019s a stark reminder of how predictable politics can feel in a country still mired in war and in a world that seems increasingly scripted. Is there logic in preparing for the elections and the political process, which under normal security [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":1321928,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[76871,76872,76893],"class_list":["post-1356901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-2","category-news-feed","category-thoughts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1356901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1356901"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1356901\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1357176,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1356901\/revisions\/1357176"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1321928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1356901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1356901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}