{"id":13545,"date":"2026-02-11T13:21:53","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T10:21:53","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-02-11T13:21:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T10:21:53","slug":"ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine targets May 15 for presidential election and peace referendum amid US pressure"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ukraine is preparing to hold a presidential election and a referendum on a potential peace agreement with Russia this spring, according to Ukrainian and Western officials cited<\/a><\/span> by the Financial Times (FT).<\/p>\n

Sources indicate that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could formally announce the decision on February 24, marking the fourth anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion.<\/p>\n

Officials speaking to the FT noted that Kyiv is taking this step under pressure from the administration of US President Donald Trump. Washington has reportedly demanded that both the election and the referendum be conducted by May 15, with a further expectation that peace negotiations with Russia be concluded by the summer.<\/p>\n

Kyiv tightens schedule in line with Trump administration demands<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zelenskyy and his team have informed the American side that they are prepared to conduct the election and referendum within an “extraordinarily short timeframe,” despite the significant challenges posed by the ongoing war.<\/p>\n

According to the report, Kyiv\u2019s primary objective with this move is to convince Trump that Ukraine is not the party responsible for delaying a peace settlement. A Western official speaking to the newspaper evaluated the situation, noting, “The Ukrainians are firmly convinced that this entire process must be linked to Zelenskyy\u2019s reelection.”<\/p>\n

White House wants clear timeline for peace<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Ukrainian leader previously stated that the US proposed a framework to end the war by June. Zelenskyy remarked that the White House intends to shift its focus toward the Congressional midterm elections in late autumn after that date, adding, “They want a clear timetable.”<\/p>\n

Ukraine\u2019s last presidential election was held in 2019. While the next vote was originally scheduled for March 2024, it was postponed indefinitely due to the national mobilization and martial law currently in effect. The mobilization measures, which Zelenskyy has extended every three months, are currently set to remain in force until May 4, 2026.<\/p>\n

Seeking public support for peace deal<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zelenskyy has previously characterized Vladimir Putin’s demands\u2014specifically that Ukraine cede portions of the Donbas region not currently occupied by the Russian military\u2014as impossible to accept.<\/p>\n

To navigate this, the Ukrainian leader suggested submitting a peace agreement involving territorial questions to a public referendum to secure a popular mandate. He noted that under current law, neither the president nor parliament has the authority to make unilateral decisions regarding the country’s territorial integrity; such measures require a direct vote from the citizens.<\/p>\n

While Zelenskyy pointed out that 87% of the Ukrainian people support the swift establishment of peace, he emphasized that 85% remain opposed to withdrawing from the eastern regions. “This means that everyone wants peace, but it must be a fair peace,” he said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ukraine is preparing to hold a presidential election and a referendum on a potential peace agreement with Russia this spring, according to Ukrainian and Western officials cited by the Financial Times (FT). Sources indicate that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could formally announce the decision on February 24, marking the fourth anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13546,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[175],"tags":[16370,319,2831,16371,302,3649,4108,16369,5977,4021,6066,16368,1644,7121,2325],"class_list":["post-13545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diplomacy","tag-congressional-midterms","tag-donald-trump","tag-donbas","tag-fair-peace-settlement","tag-financial-times","tag-kyiv","tag-martial-law","tag-national-referendum","tag-peace-negotiations","tag-presidential-election","tag-territorial-integrity","tag-ukraine-russia-war","tag-us-foreign-policy","tag-volodymyr-zelenskyy","tag-white-house"],"yoast_head":"\nUkraine targets May 15 for presidential election and peace referendum amid US pressure - Harici<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ukraine prepares for a May 15 presidential election and peace referendum following pressure from the Trump administration.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ukraine targets May 15 for presidential election and peace referendum amid US pressure - Harici\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ukraine prepares for a May 15 presidential election and peace referendum following pressure from the Trump administration.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Harici\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/haricitr\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-11T10:21:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ukraine-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"765\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Harici.com.tr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@haricitr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@haricitr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Harici.com.tr\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Harici.com.tr\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/45047d1e0be7e8c266daed68de2cf7aa\"},\"headline\":\"Ukraine targets May 15 for presidential election and peace referendum amid US pressure\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-11T10:21:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/\"},\"wordCount\":447,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ukraine-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Congressional midterms\",\"Donald Trump\",\"Donbas\",\"fair peace settlement\",\"Financial Times\",\"Kyiv\",\"martial law\",\"national referendum\",\"peace negotiations\",\"presidential election\",\"territorial integrity\",\"Ukraine-Russia war\",\"US foreign policy\",\"Volodymyr Zelenskyy\",\"White House\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Diplomacy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/\",\"name\":\"Ukraine targets May 15 for presidential election and peace referendum amid US pressure - Harici\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ukraine-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-11T10:21:53+00:00\",\"description\":\"Ukraine prepares for a May 15 presidential election and peace referendum following pressure from the Trump administration.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ukraine-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ukraine-1.jpg\",\"width\":1360,\"height\":765},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ukraine targets May 15 for presidential election and peace referendum amid US pressure\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Harici\",\"description\":\"Tracing The Changing World\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Harici\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/harici_admin_logo_compress.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/harici_admin_logo_compress.webp\",\"width\":280,\"height\":286,\"caption\":\"Harici\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/haricitr\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/haricitr\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/45047d1e0be7e8c266daed68de2cf7aa\",\"name\":\"Harici.com.tr\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ede4c0daa2de13cfbd3201e07844b7a0e9c17ad41edea7a38546f494810d8cc8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ede4c0daa2de13cfbd3201e07844b7a0e9c17ad41edea7a38546f494810d8cc8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Harici.com.tr\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/harici.com.tr\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/author\/hariciadmin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ukraine targets May 15 for presidential election and peace referendum amid US pressure - Harici","description":"Ukraine prepares for a May 15 presidential election and peace referendum following pressure from the Trump administration.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ukraine targets May 15 for presidential election and peace referendum amid US pressure - Harici","og_description":"Ukraine prepares for a May 15 presidential election and peace referendum following pressure from the Trump administration.","og_url":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/","og_site_name":"Harici","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/haricitr","article_published_time":"2026-02-11T10:21:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1360,"height":765,"url":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ukraine-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Harici.com.tr","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@haricitr","twitter_site":"@haricitr","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Harici.com.tr","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/"},"author":{"name":"Harici.com.tr","@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/45047d1e0be7e8c266daed68de2cf7aa"},"headline":"Ukraine targets May 15 for presidential election and peace referendum amid US pressure","datePublished":"2026-02-11T10:21:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/"},"wordCount":447,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ukraine-1.jpg","keywords":["Congressional midterms","Donald Trump","Donbas","fair peace settlement","Financial Times","Kyiv","martial law","national referendum","peace negotiations","presidential election","territorial integrity","Ukraine-Russia war","US foreign policy","Volodymyr Zelenskyy","White House"],"articleSection":["Diplomacy"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/","url":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/","name":"Ukraine targets May 15 for presidential election and peace referendum amid US pressure - Harici","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ukraine-1.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-11T10:21:53+00:00","description":"Ukraine prepares for a May 15 presidential election and peace referendum following pressure from the Trump administration.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ukraine-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ukraine-1.jpg","width":1360,"height":765},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/ukraine-targets-may-15-for-presidential-election-and-peace-referendum-amid-us-pressure\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ukraine targets May 15 for presidential election and peace referendum amid US pressure"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/","name":"Harici","description":"Tracing The Changing World","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#organization","name":"Harici","url":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/harici_admin_logo_compress.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/harici_admin_logo_compress.webp","width":280,"height":286,"caption":"Harici"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/haricitr","https:\/\/x.com\/haricitr"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/45047d1e0be7e8c266daed68de2cf7aa","name":"Harici.com.tr","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ede4c0daa2de13cfbd3201e07844b7a0e9c17ad41edea7a38546f494810d8cc8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ede4c0daa2de13cfbd3201e07844b7a0e9c17ad41edea7a38546f494810d8cc8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Harici.com.tr"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/harici.com.tr"],"url":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/author\/hariciadmin\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13545"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13547,"href":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13545\/revisions\/13547"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}