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Fedorov urges wartime elections
Ukraine’s ousted defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov called for wartime elections in a video address posted on YouTube on Tuesday, framing the issue as the biggest internal challenge to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“Democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia”
Fedorov argued that “Democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia,” and said Ukraine must “find a legal, safe and realistic mechanism” to renew its democratic process even “in the conditions of a long war.”
Ukrainian law currently prohibits holding elections during wartime, and Zelenskiy’s five-year term ended in May 2024 while martial law remains in effect.
Fedorov, who was sacked last month after roughly six months in post, delivered the call as Ukraine grappled with “the fundamental question of how a state should function if war lasts for years,” according to UPI’s account of his remarks.
The political pressure around the defence ministry reshuffle also intersected with Zelenskiy’s move to ask parliament to confirm Yevhenii Khmara as Ukraine’s new defence minister in office on Wednesday, effectively closing the door on a Fedorov comeback.
Protests, legal dispute, graft
Fedorov’s dismissal sparked protests across Ukraine, and the BBC reported that a source in the presidential office said it was “highly bizarre to plan elections amidst missiles and drones.”
The BBC also described how about 100 protesters gathered outside Ukrainian parliament on Wednesday morning, chanting “bring back Fedorov as minister of defence” and “we are fed up, we want dialogue.”
While Fedorov did not mention Zelenskiy by name in his video, he said Ukraine faced a “systemic crisis of governance” and condemned corruption for hurting the war effort, according to the BBC’s account.
In parallel, Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies announced they were conducting a special operation targeting current and former MPs as well as an unnamed official in the presidential office, and WRAL said the investigation was carried out by Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.
WRAL further reported that Zelenskyy issued a decree dismissing Iryna Mudra from the position of deputy head of the Office of the President hours after the anti-corruption agencies announced the investigation.
What’s at stake next
Fedorov’s call for elections during war was presented as a direct challenge to Zelenskiy’s wartime rule, with CNBC describing it as the most direct political challenge to Zelenskyy since Russia’s full-scale invasion nearly four-and-a-half years ago.
“most direct political challenge to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy”
CNBC reported that Zelenskyy confirmed he had asked parliament to confirm Yevhen Khmara as Ukraine’s new defence minister in office on Wednesday, closing the door on Fedorov’s return to the post any time soon.
In the same Reuters account of Fedorov’s remarks, the ex-minister did not say he would compete in any election, but a recent poll indicated he would “comfortably beat Zelenskiy in a runoff vote.”
The Kyiv Independent reported that Fedorov said Ukraine needs a “legal, safe, and realistic mechanism” for holding elections during a prolonged war while safeguarding voting rights for military personnel, Ukrainians abroad, and people living in front-line regions.
As Ukraine’s political debate over elections unfolded alongside ongoing wartime governance, the BBC noted that Zelensky is yet to respond to Fedorov’s video statement, while the presidential office source argued that elections should not be planned “amidst missiles and drones.”
