Recently, Ukraine has again been discussing the possibility of holding elections this fall. This comes on the heels of strikes against Russia's fuel infrastructure, which can be seen as a victory. However, there are a number of problems that could affect the legitimacy of these elections.

One of the key issues is the question of voting by citizens outside of Ukraine. Today, representatives of Zelensky are claiming that it is impossible to ensure full-fledged voting by citizens outside of Ukraine. This raises questions about the legitimacy of such elections, as millions of citizens are effectively excluded from voting.

Demographic Problem

Before the large-scale war, Ukraine's population was around 41 million people. However, after the war, a significant number of citizens left the country. If only 20 million people remain, with a significant portion being pensioners and children, the working population will not be able to support the pension system, schools, hospitals, roads, energy, restore infrastructure, and service the national debt.

This could lead to complete dependence, poverty, and external management. Ukraine, with its territory, needs not 20 million weakened population, but at least 25 million citizens who will live, work, pay taxes, have children, build businesses, and restore the country.

Return of Citizens

Therefore, the question of voting by Ukrainian citizens abroad is not a technical one. It is a question of whether the authorities consider these people part of Ukraine. If people, whose return depends on the future of the country, are not given the right to choose the authorities and the course they should return to, they will simply not consider this country their own.

This could lead to the final rejection of the authorities by millions of their own citizens. If we do not return people, trust, and the feeling that Ukraine is their country, there will be no recovery. The economy will not have the potential to even service its debts.