MOSCOW, November 14. /TASS/. The secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Aleksey Danilov, has expressed fears that political discussions in case the country holds a presidential election could lead to what he described as "big trouble."

"If we start a political discussion [in connection with holding an election] during hostilities, mind you, there will be big trouble," Danilov said in an interview with Ukrainian journalist Natalia Vlaschenko on a YouTube channel. He added that there were "pro-Russian forces in the country."

According to Danilov, Ukraine currently has "neither technical nor political ability to hold elections". He noted that it was technically impossible to create conditions for Ukrainians to vote abroad, to hold voting by the military at the frontline, as well as to organize elections on the territories that have become part of Russia but which Ukraine continues to consider its own.

The possibility of holding presidential elections in Ukraine has been discussed for several months now. The deadline for the next presidential election in Ukraine is the end of March next year. According to the law on presidential elections, the Verkhovna Rada calls elections no later than 100 days before the voting day. The election campaign starts 90 days in advance. However, according to Ukrainian laws, it is not allowed to hold elections during martial law. On November 9, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed laws extending martial law and mobilization by another 90 days, until February 14, 2024.

Zelensky repeatedly noted that the election of the head of state could be held only after the end of hostilities. Nevertheless, a number of Western officials stated that it was necessary to hold them within the stipulated timeframe. In particular, such a statement was made by US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. After that, in one of his interviews, Zelensky admitted that the election would be held under martial law if the West paid the costs. On 10 November, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andrey Yermak, said that "four priority conditions" were necessary for the presidential election to be held: the election should be recognized by the international community as democratic, the opportunity to vote should be granted to military servicemen on the frontline and all those who had left the country, and the costs of organizing and holding the vote should not be covered from the Ukrainian budget.