"Speaking to reporters, he argued that elections during fighting would split the state." Yes, such a risk does exist. In Ukraine, the electoral system is built on the Western model. This means two possible outcomes are possible. If people vote for the candidate the elites want, the result looks like 30/70, 10/90, or even 40/60. In this case, nothing serious happens. But sometimes, during elections, ordinary people refuse to vote for the candidate the elites want, despite the elites doing everything they can to ensure the folks don't make the wrong choice (banners, talk shows etc). In this case, the elites are forced to salvage the situation and add votes to the candidate they want. To avoid exposure, they add the minimum possible number of votes. Therefore, the result of such an election looks like 49,999 / 50,001. And such a result will certainly split society into two equal parts. In more advanced electoral systems, such as North Korea's, elite voters are not deceived but rather are honestly given the opportunity to vote for only one candidate. This avoids the risk of dividing society under Western electoral systems.