Former Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov Calls for Wartime Elections

Former Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has called for presidential elections to be held despite the ongoing war with Russia. In a nine minute YouTube video released Tuesday night, Fedorov questioned how the state should function if the conflict lasts for years and argued that democracy should not be a hostage to Russia. Former Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba reportedly supported this position, stating that the political model from 2019 is emotionally exhausted.

Fedorov, a 35 year old technocrat, served as the minister of digital transformation before his short tenure as defence minister, which began in January. He was dismissed in July following a falling out with General Oleksandr Syrskii. While he was not in charge of actual warfare, he managed logistics, technological innovations, and anticorruption measures. He is known for creating Diia, a government services app. According to a late July poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, Fedorov is the second most trusted potential president at 63 percent, trailing only former General Valerii Zaluzhnyi at 66 percent, while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy follows at 56 percent.

Public and expert reactions to the proposal are mixed. Some citizens have held protest rallies in Kyiv calling for Fedorov's reinstatement, while other experts suggest that holding a vote under Russian bombardment is nearly impossible. Center left coverage highlights the logistical dangers for citizens in occupied territories and suggests that the Kremlin has previously pushed for elections to remove Zelenskyy. Center right coverage notes that most Ukrainians currently oppose holding elections, though democratic pressure is increasing.