There are conflicting reports that Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is actually planning on holding elections in a few months. It all started with this Wednesday FT headline: "Zelenskyy plans spring elections alongside referendum on peace deal after US push."

Financial Times as well as the UK Times says that Zelensky is planning to announce a spring election alongside a referendum on any peace deal to end the war with Russia. The votes would be held simultaneously, and the target month would be May, the report claims.

"In the face of pressure from the White House, the Ukrainian leader intends to announce the move on February 24, the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday," the report says.

This is of course in reference to the full-scale Russian invasion of 2022, as the war is entering its fifth year. But not all sources are in agreement as to Zelensky's election plans.

So far he has resisted Trump admin pressure to announce an election, citing lack of security across the country to ensure a fair and smooth voting process. A key stipulation pushed by Zelensky is that Russia would have to agree to a temporary ceasefire for the vote to proceed, and this scenario is very unlikely at this point in the conflict.

The pushback against the initial FT report comes from local Ukrainian media. In this particular case it is probably the more accurate report:

As of now, President Volodymyr Zelensky does not plan to announce presidential elections or a referendum on a possible peace deal with Russia on Feb. 24, a source in the President's Office familiar with the matter told the Kyiv Independent on Feb. 11.

The comment came after the Financial Times reported that Kyiv was preparing to hold both votes this spring and that Zelensky could unveil the plan on the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion.

So Zelensky's office itself is rejecting the claims of Western media. Again, this is consistent with Zelensky's stance on this issue throughout escalating pressure from Washington, and clearly nothing fundamentally has changed.

The Kyiv Independent report went so far as to blast the initial reporting as "rumors". A source in the Ukrainian president's office said, "Well, I guess someone somewhere is talking about it. It's not the first time they've been spreading rumors," the source in the President's Office said. "Next week, there are meetings. If there is progress, then maybe something will change." The official added: "So far, there is no progress."

Ukrainian media & sources in Zelensky's office say this is fake news...

Parliament is examining the issue, after months ago Zelensky ordered lawmakers to prepare changes to election laws that would permit voting under martial law; however, no revisions have been passed and the issue has been essentially buried in committee debate. This itself (a formal committee examination of a potential election) appears just a symbolic move to placate the Trump administration.