The measure enables Ukraine to further delay elections, despite pressure for a presidential vote from the US and Russia.
Ukraine’s parliament has voted to extend martial law and military mobilisation for another three months, prolonging the wartime measures until at least August 6.
Lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak said the extension of martial law passed by a 357-1 vote, while a measure to maintain troop mobilisation was approved 356-1.
Under Ukraine’s constitution, elections cannot be held during martial law – a provision that remains in effect despite external calls, including from Russia and the United States, for a timeline on a future vote.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose five-year term was originally due to end in May last year, and even raised the prospect of a temporary United Nations-backed government to lead Ukraine to elections.
Reacting to the martial law extension, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Kyiv of trying to “preserve its unstable structure”.
In February, US President Donald Trump described Zelenskyy as a “dictator without elections”, prompting Ukrainians to rally around their leader and boosting his approval ratings.
As peace talks led by the Trump administration created hopes for a potential ceasefire and eventual elections, some Ukrainian opposition politicians have grown more vocal in their criticism of Zelenskyy. Still, there is broad support for maintaining martial law.
Petro Poroshenko, a former president and leader of the country’s largest opposition party, said there was no doubt martial law should be prolonged, but accused Zelenskyy of attempting to use the measure to shore up his powers.
“I want to stress that we should recognise the obvious – the government has started to abuse martial law, using it not only to defend the country, but to build an authoritarian regime,” Poroshenko said during parliamentary debates on Tuesday.
Uncertainty over energy strike moratorium
The martial law vote came as heavy fighting and air attacks continued between Russia and Ukraine, now in the 38th month of gruelling war.
An overnight Russian drone attack on the Black Sea port city of Odesa injured three people and damaged homes, while various morning air and artillery attacks killed at least one person in the southern city of Kherson, according to Ukrainian officials.
Meanwhile, the Russian military said its forces captured the eastern Ukrainian village of Kalynove, another small claimed advance in the embattled Donetsk region.
The Russian Ministry of Defence also accused Ukraine of carrying out six attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure, despite a mutually-agreed 30-day moratorium on such strikes.
It is unclear if the pause on attacks on energy infrastructure, due to expire on Wednesday, will be extended.
“We’ll keep you informed. I am not yet ready to tell you what decision has been made,” Peskov told reporters when asked about whether Russia would extend the moratorium.
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