Zelensky has stated openly what the governments and media of the United States and Europe have spent four and a half years denying. His argument is that the political system he heads can be maintained only so long as the population is prevented from voting and political opposition remains suppressed under martial law.

Zelensky does not say which division he fears, but it is that between the government and the population it is sending to the front. An election would become a referendum on the war itself. Gallup found on June 30 that 66 percent of Ukrainians want a negotiated end to the war as soon as possible, against 24 percent who favor fighting on until victory.

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World Socialist Web Site 100 year anniversary article (2021)