Zelensky said MPs will have to serve either in parliament or at the front

Martial law is currently in force and the state must be defended, so members of parliament will have to either perform their duties in the legislature in accordance with Ukrainian law, or Zelensky is ready to discuss with parliamentary representatives a law to amend the mobilization procedure so that MPs could go to the front.

“From the first days of the full-scale Russian invasion there were deputies who wanted to give up their mandate. There can be different desires and different attitudes toward them, but we have martial law and we need to defend our state. And therefore, members of parliament will have to either serve in parliament in accordance with Ukrainian legislation, or I am ready to discuss with representatives of parliament a law on changes to mobilization so that deputies can go to the front. If you don’t serve the state in parliament, then serve the state at the front,” Zelensky told journalists on Saturday.

According to the president, there is a third option—somehow change the legislation and hold elections.

“But I believe elections are impossible during war, and there are relevant legal complications as well,” he emphasized.

The head of state also noted that opposition MPs are not adding their votes for certain important bills, in particular those tied to an IMF legislative request for financial support, or for bills needed for European integration.