KYIV/MOSCOW – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday said holding elections is impossible under the country's current conditions, the Ukrinform news agency reported.

"Elections right now would be a tsunami for the country that would tear Ukraine apart. So, my strategy is to bring the country to the end of the war and preserve an independent and sovereign state," Zelensky told reporters.

Ukraine would be ready to discuss holding possible elections only if its partners provide specific guarantees that the vote could be held safely, legitimately and democratically, without strikes or shelling, Zelensky said.

Former Ukrainian defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov recently said that Ukraine should find a legal and safe way to hold elections even during the conflict.

A presidential election was expected to be held in 2024 but was postponed due to the country's martial law, which has been in effect since the escalation of the Ukraine crisis. 

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Separately, Russian air defense systems intercepted and shot down 269 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions in 12 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

"During the day, from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm Moscow time, air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 269 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones," the ministry said in a statement.

A day earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that over the past 40 days, the Ukrainian Armed Forces had persistently launched attacks on Russian civilian and logistics facilities using missiles and drones, which he described as "another gamble" by Ukraine and its Western backers aimed at inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia.

Putin said that Russian troops were not only continuing offensives along all fronts but also stepping up military pressure, and expressed confidence in accomplishing the goals of the special military operation.