Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday flatly rejected a call by his former defense chief to send the country to the ballot box.

“I believe that during a war like this, elections in general carry significant risks,” Zelenskyy told journalists — including POLITICO — behind closed doors.

A vote “right now would be a tsunami for the state, one that would tear Ukraine apart,” the Ukrainian president said. He added that his strategy is to lead his people “to the end of the war and preserve an independent and sovereign state.”