Part 3/10:
With elections originally slated for March or April 2024, the trajectory changed dramatically due to the imposition of martial law following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. This martial law explicitly restricts the conduction of presidential, parliamentary, and local elections, rendering any polls under the current regime unconstitutional. Besides the legal repercussions, both Zelensky and his allies contend that elections are impractical given the circumstances: the considerable Russian occupation of Ukrainian territory and the displacement of nearly 14 million Ukrainians, which risks further division amongst a war-focused populace.