MOSCOW, December 24. /TASS/. Ukraine considers holding a presidential election, while US President Donald Trump unveiled plans for a Golden Fleet. Meanwhile, gold prices have surged 70% over the past year. These stories topped Wednesday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
A potential election in Ukraine can hardly be considered fair unless the votes of millions of Ukrainians living in Russia are counted, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik told Izvestia. Earlier, the Verkhovna Rada, or Ukraine’s parliament, announced the formation of a working group to organize a potential presidential election, something on which the US president has insisted. However, it is not clear when the voting could take place. Experts doubt it will be held any time soon, while Ukraine’s Central Election Commission has said it would be optimal to arrange an election within the next six months.
Vladimir Oleinik, a former Ukrainian MP, dismissed the idea as pure lies meant to avoid saying no to Donald Trump. "If we take [Vladimir] Zelensky’s statement regarding holding an election within the next 60 to 90 days, I’ll tell you as a lawyer and a former parliamentarian that it would be impossible," he said.
