Former Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has called for elections in Ukraine while the country remains at war. In a video posted on YouTube, the 35-year-old politician said, “Democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia.” He stressed that Ukraine was fighting because it wanted to remain a free European country.

Fedorov, once a close ally of President Volodymyr Zelensky, said corruption had harmed the war effort and claimed that Ukraine was experiencing a “systemic crisis of governance.” He said the old system operated by its own rules, protected itself and feared change. People, he added, could not live indefinitely in a country where they did not understand why decisions were made or why some reforms advanced while others were blocked.

The former minister argued that Ukraine could conduct national elections while continuing to fight. He described it as particularly dangerous when personal loyalty to the system, rather than professionalism, results or the ability to change the country, became the main criterion for appointments. Fedorov did not outline his own political plans. Instead, he called for a “legal, secure and realistic mechanism” allowing Ukraine to restore a full democratic process during a prolonged war.

Martial law has been in force in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion and suspends the holding of elections. Zelensky’s five-year presidential term ended in May 2024, but the continuing conflict has not produced broad public support for immediate elections. Zelensky has repeatedly rejected holding a vote during the war, despite calls from US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and groups within Ukrainian society.

Although he did not mention Zelensky by name, Fedorov implied that the president was leading a poorly functioning state that had failed to overcome corruption. His address came only hours after Zelensky formally nominated Major General Yevgen Khmara, a former head of Ukraine’s Security Service, as defence minister, and Andrii Sybiha as foreign minister. The nominations were due to be considered by the Verkhovna Rada.

Fedorov was unexpectedly dismissed at the end of July, about six months after taking office. His approval rating rose from 35 to 65 percent after his removal, exceeding Zelensky’s, while a poll by Rating Group found that 72 percent of respondents opposed his dismissal. Several ministry military officials and advisers resigned in protest.

During his six months as defence minister, Fedorov sought to modernize Ukraine’s armed forces through new technologies and reforms to public procurement aimed at combating corruption. His dismissal was followed by protests across the country. The demonstrations later also called for the dismissal of then-army chief General Oleksandr Syrsky, with whom Fedorov had clashed. On July 21, Zelensky dismissed the 60-year-old general, who had led the army since 2024, and appointed Major General Mykhailo Drapaty in his place. Fedorov was offered other government positions, including deputy prime minister for military innovation, but said he would return only as defence minister.

Protests supporting him continued to grow in August. A demonstration in central Kyiv on Sunday drew thousands of supporters. Dmitry Kozyatynsky, a war veteran who leads the protests, told the Telegraph that their aim was to remind the president that he must accept responsibility for the consequences of controversial personnel decisions.

Major General Khmara confirmed that he would leave military service to become defence minister. The public broadcaster Suspilne nevertheless reported that he might not have enough votes in parliament. A lawmaker from Zelensky’s Servant of the People party said that for some deputies the vote was not about being “for” or “against” Khmara, but a vote against Fedorov. Claims also emerged that members of the Defence Ministry team planned to resign, potentially forcing Khmara to build a new team.

Political analyst Artem Bronzhukov questioned whether elections would be practical while Russian bombardments continued. He said there was no clear understanding of how people’s safety could be guaranteed during a full-scale war. In his view, Ukrainian society had a deeply rooted belief that elections were necessary, but only after the hot phase of the conflict ended. He described Ukraine as a “fighting democracy,” demonstrated, he said, by the protests that continued after Fedorov’s departure.

A poll conducted at the beginning of August placed Fedorov third in a potential first round of presidential elections, with 13.1 percent. He trailed Zelensky at 22.3 percent and former armed forces commander Valerii Zaluzhnyi, now Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, at 21.4 percent. The SOCIS Centre survey concluded that Zelensky would lose a second round to either Fedorov or Zaluzhnyi.

Any future election would have to account for millions of Ukrainians living in exile or displaced since the start of the war, more than one million people serving in the armed forces, many of them at the front, and the fact that around one-fifth of the country’s territory is under Russian occupation.