World
Elections (finally) in Ukraine?
— 3 mins read
Mykhailo Fedorov says democracy 'cannot be held hostage by Russia'
Ukraine's sacked defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov has called for presidential elections to be held during the war. It is widely seen as the most serious challenge to Volodymyr Zelensky since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
Fedorov, 35, made the demand in a nine-minute video posted to YouTube on 18 August. 'Democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia', he said, arguing Ukraine is fighting 'precisely because we want to remain a free European state'.
He called for a 'legal, safe, and realistic mechanism' to restore the democratic process during a prolonged war, Ukrainska Pravda reported. He did not mention Zelensky by name and gave no indication he intends to run.
Ukraine has been under martial law since February 2022. Ukrainian law bans presidential, parliamentary, and local elections while it remains in force. Zelensky's five-year term ended in May 2024 and was extended under martial law provisions.
Why Fedorov was sacked
Zelensky fired Fedorov on 15 July, six months after appointing him. The dismissal is widely attributed to a feud with army commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi over drones, procurement reform, and mobilisation. Fedorov himself says his changes to military procurement, which cut off favoured contracts, were the real reason.
Syrskyi was himself replaced within days, on 21 July, by Mykhailo Drapatyi.
The sacking brought protesters onto the streets in Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Odesa, and Dnipro. At the peak, more than 5,000 people rallied in Kyiv, with solidarity demonstrations abroad. About 100 protesters gathered outside parliament on Wednesday morning, chanting 'bring back Fedorov as minister of defence'.
Fedorov was offered other posts, including deputy prime minister for military innovation, but refused everything except his old job. Parliament confirmed his replacement, Yevhenii Khmara, as defence minister on 19 August with 312 votes.
Corruption raid reaches Zelensky's office
On the day after Fedorov's video, Ukraine's two anti-corruption agencies, NABU and SAPO, launched an operation targeting a current MP, a former MP, and a senior official in the presidential office. Both agencies are statutory bodies funded from the Ukrainian state budget, with NABU set up in 2015 with international backing.
In a single month, Fedorov has gone from demanding his old job back to demanding political change across Ukraine.
Investigators allege a group laundered about 150 million hryvnias, roughly $3.3 million (c.£2.4 million), through shell companies at a state bank. Iryna Mudra, deputy head of Zelensky's office, was notified of suspicion and dismissed by presidential decree the same day. MP Vadym Stolar, whose home was searched, said he was cooperating.
In his video, Fedorov said corruption was depriving the military of weapons and described a 'systemic crisis of governance'.
Russian strikes kill six on the same day
The war carried on regardless. A Russian drone hit a minibus in Kherson on Wednesday morning, killing four elderly civilians: three women aged 63, 71, and 89, and a 69-year-old man. In Zhytomyr, jet-powered drones struck the regional police headquarters, killing two officers and injuring at least 20. Later official updates put the wounded at more than 40.
The barriers to a wartime vote
The practical obstacles are severe: millions of refugees abroad, hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the front line, occupied territory, and the threat of Russian interference. Polling by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology suggests about 57% of Ukrainians want elections only after the fighting ends.
Zelensky has said wartime elections would 'split Ukraine', though he previously offered a vote within 60 to 90 days if allies guaranteed security. MP Oleksandr Merezhko, a Zelensky loyalist who backed Fedorov's return to the defence ministry, called the election idea 'very dangerous and unrealistic'. Opposition MP Volodymyr Aryev disagreed, saying Ukraine 'must choose between elections and chaos'.
Fedorov has not declared any candidacy. But in a single month he has gone from demanding his old job back to demanding political change across Ukraine.
