Sacked Ukrainian defence minister challenges Zelensky with election call

Mykhailo Fedorov, the former Ukrainian defence minister whose sacking last month triggered nationwide protests, has issued the most significant challenge to Volodymyr Zelensky's presidency since Russia's full-scale invasion, calling for wartime elections despite the ongoing suspension of democratic processes under martial law. In a video posted to YouTube on Tuesday, the 35-year-old declared that "democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia", arguing that Ukraine is fighting precisely because it seeks to remain a free European state. His remarks come four and a half years after Moscow launched its unprovoked invasion, during which period elections have been suspended under martial law.

Fedorov, who did not mention Zelensky by name, was unexpectedly dismissed from his post as defence minister just six months after his appointment, a move widely attributed to tensions with army commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi. Within days of his dismissal, Syrskyi was also replaced, as mounting protests demanding Fedorov's reinstatement intensified pressure on the president. The former minister was offered other government positions, including deputy prime minister for military innovation, but has insisted he would only return to the defence portfolio. Hours before Fedorov posted his video, Zelensky confirmed he had asked parliament to confirm acting defence minister Yevhenii Khmara in the post, with a vote scheduled for later on Wednesday.

During his brief tenure, Fedorov was credited with energising the ministry, heading a drive against corruption and employing data-driven analysis to improve frontline performance. A former minister of digital transformation, he established a volunteer "IT Army of Ukraine" to launch cyber-attacks against Russian targets in the early days of the invasion, and later led a successful fundraising campaign called the Army of Drones. As defence minister, he continued to focus on high-tech warfare and procurement, and notably asked SpaceX founder Elon Musk to prevent Russia from using Starlink satellites for drone attacks, a move credited with disrupting Russian frontline operations. In a Facebook post following his dismissal, Fedorov listed his achievements and vowed to "continue... to defeat the enemy through asymmetry, speed of innovation, and organisational strength".

Fedorov's call for elections has, however, angered some Ukrainian commentators, including those who backed his return as defence minister. One of Zelensky's detractors argued that even the government's fiercest opponents understood that holding elections during a war was impossible. Zelensky's five-year presidential term ended in May 2024, but under the Ukrainian constitution, no elections can be held while martial law is in place. When Donald Trump suggested last year that Kyiv was "using war" to avoid a vote, Zelensky responded that Ukraine was "ready for elections" within 60 to 90 days if its allies could help guarantee security for them, though holding a fair vote under repeated Russian bombardment would present formidable logistical challenges.

Fedorov gave no indication of his own political ambitions in the video, instead focusing on the need for a "legal, safe, and realistic mechanism that will allow Ukraine to restore a full democratic process even amidst a prolonged war". He argued that Ukraine was facing a "systemic crisis of governance" and was "scared of change", pointing to corruption as one of the factors undermining the war effort. His remarks have intensified a debate over democratic legitimacy in wartime, with some Ukrainians viewing Trump's comments on elections as echoing Vladimir Putin's narrative that Zelensky is not a legitimate leader. Ukraine's recent escalation of long-range strikes across Russia, including one of the most massive drone attacks on Moscow in recent memory over the weekend, has coincided with intensified Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities, which killed 17 people on Tuesday alone. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has reaffirmed full support for Ukraine after Moscow warned of "consequences" following confirmation that British-made drones were used in recent strikes on Russian territory.