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Ukraine’s ousted defense minister calls for wartime elections in bombshell address

Published August 19, 2026 · Updated August 19, 2026 · By Barbara Davis - qwenews.com

Foto : Barbara Davis - qwenews.com

Qwenews.com – Ukraine’s recently ousted defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov called for wartime elections in a bombshell ​address on Tuesday evening, stating that the wartime ‌nation faced a crisis of governance, in the biggest internal challenge to President Volodymyr Zelensky since 2022. Fedorov’s call, delivered in a video address ​posted on YouTube, is the first such demand ​by a major Ukrainian political figure since the beginning ⁠of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. The law in Ukraine ​prohibits the holding of elections during wartime.

The 35-year-old Fedorov was ​a longtime ally of Zelensky’s until his unexpected firing from the defense ministry in July, just six months after he had been appointed, ​vowing sweeping reforms. “Democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia,” ​Fedorov said. “We must find a legal, safe and realistic mechanism which will ‌allow ⁠Ukraine to renew its full democratic process even in the conditions of a long war.” In what appeared to be an open challenge to Zelensky, Fedorov said that Ukraine faced a “systemic ​crisis of ​governance.” “The old system ⁠lives by its own rules too often.

It protects itself. It is scared of change,” ​he said. Without naming names, Fedorov hit out ​at official ⁠corruption, which he said hurt Ukraine’s war effort.

The ex-minister recently said he believed that his reform of the defense ⁠ministry’s ​procurement processes, responsible for purchasing billions ​of dollars of equipment, contributed to his sacking. Zelensky’s office had no immediate comment ​on Federov’s statement.

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