Ukraine’s ousted defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov has called for elections to be held while the war with Russia continues, in the most direct internal challenge to President Volodymyr Zelensky since the 2022 invasion.
Fedorov, 35, made the appeal in a video address posted on YouTube on August 18, arguing that the country faced a crisis of governance after more than four years of fighting.
“Democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia,” he said, according to Reuters.
He argued that the State should find a legal, safe and realistic mechanism for voting to resume, with arrangements for soldiers, Ukrainians abroad and residents of front-line regions.
It was the first such demand from a senior Ukrainian political figure since Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Elections are barred under the martial law in force since February 2022 and only the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, can lift that restriction.
The address followed within hours of Zelensky formally nominating acting defence minister Yevhen Khmara to hold the post permanently, ending speculation that Fedorov might be reinstated.
Fedorov also condemned official corruption without naming individuals and said those handling public authority or public money should have to account for their decisions in public. Zelensky’s office made no immediate comment.
The former minister was removed on July 15 after six months in the job as part of a wider reshuffle, a decision that triggered nightly demonstrations in Kyiv and rallies in Lviv, Odesa, Dnipro and Kharkiv. Zelensky dismissed commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi six days later under public pressure, replacing him with Mykhailo Drapatyi.
Protests have continued into a second month, though on a smaller scale. Fedorov has turned down other government posts since his dismissal, saying he would come back only as defence minister.
Khmara, a major general who had been serving as acting head of the Security Service of Ukraine, agreed to leave military service to satisfy a legal requirement that the defence ministry be led by a civilian. Parliament was due to vote on his appointment and on that of acting foreign minister Andrii Sybiha.
Fedorov was the youngest minister in Ukrainian history when appointed digitalisation chief at 28 and was the last surviving member of Zelensky’s first cabinet, formed in 2019. He built the drone procurement networks that reshaped the Ukraine war.
British think tank Chatham House has cited polling by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology showing trust in Fedorov rising from 38 per cent to 50 per cent over six months, with trust in Zelensky steady at about 61 per cent.
Fedorov has not said whether he intends to stand for office.
