“This is not the time for elections” in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi said on Monday amid a debate among the country’s leaders on whether to hold presidential elections scheduled for 2024, AFP reports.

“We have to decide that now is the time for defense, for a battle on which the fate of the state and people depends, and not for the farce that only Russia expects from Ukraine. I think now is not the time for elections,” he said in his daily speech.

“We must unite, not separate, not diverge into quarrels or other priorities,” he urged.

If Russia had not invaded in February 2022, parliamentary elections in Ukraine would have been held in October this year, and presidential elections in March 2024.

But given the current situation, Kyiv has already reiterated that it faces a dilemma as its Western allies urge Ukraine to hold democratic elections, even though nearly 20 percent of its territory is occupied by Russia and millions of Ukrainians are refugees abroad.

Another major hurdle is that the law would have to be amended to allow elections to be held under the martial law that is currently in place.

“There is no room for conflict,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained on Monday evening.

“We all understand that today, in wartime, when there are many challenges, it is absolutely irresponsible to raise the topic of elections in society,” added the President of Ukraine.

The announcement came amid a debate in the country over the possibility of holding wartime elections.

“The Ukrainian president is studying and weighing the pros and cons,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said last Friday, stressing that the elections will be unprecedented challenges for the authorities.