Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko claims that the Ukrainian authorities are planning to hold presidential elections by the end of this year.

"Write it down - October 26 this year," Poroshenko said in an interview with Ukrainian website Censor.net.

Poroshenko, who currently leads one of Ukraine's leading opposition parties, says the state is now calculating the number of ballots needed to hold the election.

He said he received this information from insiders in the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"According to our sources, the electoral commission is starting to make changes to the electoral register. (...) This is only to prepare for the elections," he said.

However, the chairman of the ruling Servant of the People party denied Poroshenko's claim.

"During the state of emergency it is impossible to hold elections (...) The leaders of all parties agreed that no elections will be held for at least six months after the end of the state of emergency," David Arahamya wrote in Telegram.

Zelensky's five-year term was due to end last year on 20 May.

Presidential elections were due to be held in March or April 2024 but were postponed. According to the Ukrainian constitution, Zelensky will serve until a new head of state is elected.

Ukraine has been in a "state of emergency" since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Parliament has extended the state of emergency 14 times at 90-day intervals, with the latest one lasting until 9 May.

Poroshenko's claim about preparations for the election came days after Ukraine's Security Service announced that Kiev had imposed sanctions on the former president, including an asset freeze and a ban on withdrawing capital from the country.

"Anyone who threatened Ukraine's national security and helped Russia must be held accountable," Zelensky said, a day after the sanctions were imposed. | BGNES