As bombs fall, Ukraine mulls polls

Zelenskyy with (left) Charles Michel, president of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, at a news conference during a summit in Kyiv in February. — ©2023 The New York Times Company

IT MIGHT seem like a huge distraction at the height of a full-scale war, not to mention a logistical nightmare: holding a presidential election as Russian missiles fly into the Ukrainian capital and artillery assaults reduce whole towns to ruins.

But President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine has not ruled it out. His five-year term ends in several months, and if not for the war, he would be preparing to either step down or campaign for a second term.