After Russia's invasion in 2022, the usually hectic political life in Ukraine was calmed by martial law. But there are now growing signs of increased activity as the United States aims to quickly end the war with Russia, Reuters reports.
In the past week, one Ukrainian political camp has accused President Volodymyr Zelensky's team of being more interested in the election than the war, the mayor of Kiev said a presidential appointee was sabotaging his work, and opposition figures have been traveling abroad.
"This is related to Trump, the expectation that there will be negotiations... Activity has increased, there is clearly more domestic political nervousness," said Volodymyr Fesenko, a Kiev-based political analyst.
In what could fuel the sense of an imminent return to politics, "Reuters" reported on Saturday that U.S. President Donald Trump's team wants Kiev to hold presidential elections by the end of the year, especially if it can agree on a ceasefire with Moscow.
Petro Poroshenko, a former president and leading opposition figure, has been photographed shaking hands with numerous foreign officials in recent weeks.
He denies that this has anything to do with the elections, which he says would favor Russian President Vladimir Putin and destabilize Ukraine at a dangerous time.
"Our task is to win the war," Poroshenko told "Reuters".
Yet his European Solidarity Party has accused Zelensky of trying to oust him from parliament and of focusing on "the upcoming elections instead of dealing with the war.".
Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has become more visible recently, meeting with representatives of the European alliance abroad and protesting the detention of a Ukrainian general over a botched defense operation last May.
Last week, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, a potential presidential candidate, accused Zelensky's entourage of political intrigue, saying the city's military administrator, appointed by the president, had deliberately undermined the work of his civilian administration.
When asked for comment, Zelensky's team referred the matter to the city administrator, who dismissed Klitschko's allegations as unfounded.
Fesenko said some political groups were gathering activists and working on campaign teams. He said he had not seen such activity in Zelensky's camp and that politicians would likely take action if they saw an election coming.
"I think this is a false start," he said.
American officials say no policy decisions have been made and their strategy for Ukraine is evolving. Ukrainian politicians, both from the ruling bloc and the opposition, say that elections before the end of the war could undermine national unity.
There are also logistical challenges.
Sergei Dubovik, deputy head of Ukraine's Central Election Commission, told Reuters that it would take at least four to six months to prepare so that the campaign could begin before the vote, given the displacement of voters and widespread destruction.
Millions of Ukrainians still live abroad, millions more are internally displaced by the war, a fifth of Ukraine is occupied and frontline areas are devastated.
Zelensky said the election would be held immediately after the end of martial law, which was declared to give the state extraordinary powers to fight Russia. The law explicitly prohibits holding elections.
Zelensky, whose five-year term was due to end last May, has not said whether he will run again. That is not his focus, he says.
Putin, in power for 25 years, says Zelensky is not a legitimate leader in a position to negotiate because no elections have been held.
In Ukraine, even those who say they disapprove of Zelensky’s record largely see him as a legitimate leader, said Anton Hrushetsky, director of the Kiev-based KIIS think tank.
A Ukrainian government official told Reuters that Putin was trying to create a false pretext to avoid talks. Ukraine wants to hold elections, but that is impossible during a full-scale war, the official said.
Zelensky's public trust rating is above 50%, according to opinion polls, although it has fallen since Russia's invasion on February 24, 2022, when it rose to above 90% as Ukrainians united around the flag.
The elephant in the room for some observers is Valery Zaluzhny, who led the armed forces for two years after the invasion before being replaced and appointed ambassador to London.
Some lawmakers have asked whether Zaluzhny could be co-opted by an established political force and run for president.
Zaluzhny has not publicly expressed any political ambitions, but polls suggest he is popular. Zaluzhny's image is all over Kiev bookstores, where thousands of copies of his new book "My War" have been sold.
Grushetsky said that gauging the public's political preferences during the war was difficult, especially when it was not known who would run in the elections.
Polls show that the public is generally against holding elections until the war is over, Khrushetsky added.
"For the majority, the priority is to achieve success in the war and then hold elections," he said.