President Donald Trump signs the commission for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick during a swearing-in ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times)As he fundamentally upends American policy towards Ukraine, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly taken personal digs at his Ukraine counterpart Volodomyr Zelenskyy.Trump notably called Zelenskyy a “dictator”, and accused him of refusing to hold elections amidst the war in order to “to keep the gravy train” of US funding going. “Zelensky better move fast, or he is not going to have a country left,” he posted on Truth Social on Wednesday (February 19).Trump’s criticism of Zelensky for not holding elections is not a first. Beyond American conservatives like Tucker Carlson, even the Kremlin has questioned the legitimacy of Zelenskyy’s rule — something that Trump acknowledged on Tuesday.“That’s not a Russian thing, that;s something coming from me, from other countries,” he said, referring to Ukraine’s critique.Why has Ukraine not held elections since 2019?Zelenskyy was elected the Ukraine President in 2019, taking over from Petro Poroshenko. A presidential election was to take place again in 2024, and elections to the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian Parliament, were due in 2023.But the war and the subsequent imposition of martial law has meant that polls have been indefinitely suspended. Since the war began in February 2022, martial law has been imposed and extended (for 90 days at a time) 14 times thus far. It is set to expire on May 14.What does martial law entail in Ukraine?Under Ukraine’s martial law, the movement of private citizens can be restricted, and the state can move to confiscate private property. The law also authorises the government to enlist men into regular military service to fight on the frontlines.Story continues below this adNotably, Article 19 of Ukraine’s martial law explicitly prohibits elections from being conducted while under martial law. It states: “Under martial law, the following are prohibited: holding elections of the president of Ukraine, as well as elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and local self-government bodies.”Zelensky has promised to hold a new election after the war ends, and has maintained that it would be “absolutely irresponsible to throw the topic of elections” sooner.© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Explained GlobalExpress Explained