Fired Ukraine defence minister calls for wartime elections

Former Ukrainian defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov called Tuesday for Ukraine to find a way to hold elections despite the war with Russia, mounting the most prominent public challenge to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s wartime leadership since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.

“Democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia,” Fedorov, 35, said in a video posted on YouTube. He urged Ukraine to develop a “legal, safe and realistic mechanism” to restore “a full democratic process even amidst a prolonged war.”

Ukraine has been under martial law since Russian forces launched their full-scale invasion in February 2022. Elections are suspended under current law, and Zelenskyy’s presidential term expired in May 2024, with voting postponed because of the continuing state of war.

Fedorov acknowledged the difficulty of holding a vote while the conflict continues, including how to ensure participation by soldiers, residents near the front line and Ukrainians who fled the country. “This is complex…. But complexity does not mean impossibility,” he said, according to CBS News.

He did not mention Zelenskyy by name or outline his own electoral plans. But he said Ukraine is fighting “precisely because we want to remain a free European state,” and argued that the country faces a “systemic crisis of governance.” He said institutions are “scared of change” and pointed to corruption as a factor hurting the war effort.

Zelenskyy’s office has not responded publicly to Fedorov’s remarks.

Fedorov was dismissed from the Defence Ministry in July, only six months after his appointment. His removal sparked weeks of protests across Ukraine, including regular demonstrations in Kyiv that have continued to draw a couple thousand people, though with less momentum than at the start.

Before his firing, Fedorov had built a reputation as a reformer and advocate of high-tech warfare. CBS News reported that he helped design Ukraine’s strategy of using drones and robots against Russia and was credited with increasing Ukraine’s deep strikes inside Russia tenfold while strengthening the country’s domestic arsenal. The BBC reported that he energised the ministry, led anti-corruption efforts and used data to assess and improve battlefield performance.

His dismissal is widely linked to tensions with then commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi. CBS News reported that Zelenskyy cited an unsolvable feud between the two men. Syrskyi was replaced several weeks later after public pressure and protests calling for Fedorov’s reinstatement.

Zelenskyy has named Yevhenii Khmara, a career intelligence official with a low public profile, as acting defence minister and asked parliament to confirm him in the post on Wednesday. Fedorov was reportedly offered other government jobs, including deputy prime minister for military innovation, but has said he would return only as defence minister.

Before becoming defence minister, Fedorov served as minister of digital transformation. The BBC reported that he helped create a volunteer “IT Army of Ukraine” for cyberattacks against Russians after the invasion and later led the Army of Drones fundraising campaign, introducing a system that awarded Ukrainian military units credits for striking Russian targets.

The BBC also reported that Ukraine has stepped up long-range drone attacks across Russia in recent weeks, including strikes on oil refineries and warehouses. Russian officials said nine people were killed and 23 injured in recent Ukrainian strikes, while early Tuesday Russian attacks on Ukraine killed 17 people.