Ukraine’s former defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, appears to be raising the stakes in his showdown with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In a nine-minute video shared on his YouTube channel, he denounced bribery within Ukrainian ruling circles and demanded the scheduling of polls.
The ex-defense chief, whose sudden and contentious removal last July triggered widespread public demonstrations, urged Volodymyr Zelenskyy to lift the ban on conducting elections. During a nine-minute address published via his YouTube page, he strongly condemned graft while demanding accountability and openness.
“Corruption is merely a symptom. The core issue runs far deeper: we are facing a systemic failure of leadership. The old framework routinely operates by its own standards. It insulates itself. It fears transformation. It acts sluggishly,” Fedorov stated.
According to him, essential military decisions are lingering for months “from office to office,” while embezzled wartime funds represent not merely a financial setback, but a matter of national survival for Ukraine.
The former defense chief also targeted the operations of the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian Parliament), emphasizing that it ought to be “the heartbeat of Ukrainian democracy, rather than its piggy bank.”
“Citizens cannot reside indefinitely in a nation where they fail to grasp why specific rulings are praised, why certain measures advance while others stall, and why critical frontline choices stall inside administrative bureaus for months. This becomes exponentially more hazardous if the public believes the primary benchmark for leadership appointments is neither competence, performance, nor the capacity to advance the country, but unconditional personal allegiance to the administration. A modern state cannot operate this way. Neither can a nation fighting an existential conflict,” he added, noting: “We must establish a lawful, secure, and viable framework that enables Ukraine to fully restore its democratic mechanism, even amidst warfare.”
Mykhailo Fedorov was ousted from his defense post roughly six months following his appointment, amid rumors of friction regarding priorities and operational tactics with Ukraine’s top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi. Following public street rallies demanding Fedorov’s reinstatement, Zelenskyy dismissed Syrskyi the subsequent week. That same month, he declared that Yevhen Khmara, who had been serving as acting head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), would assume the defense portfolio. On Wednesday, the Verkhovna Rada confirmed the appointment.
Graft and Election Delays
Zelenskyy, whose five-year presidential term expired in May 2024, has declined to host new elections, citing martial law enacted following the onset of the special military operation in February 2022. Zelenskyy’s tenure has been marred by controversies that triggered waves of backlash both domestically and internationally.
Last year, he sought to curb the investigative powers of anti-corruption bodies NABU and SAP, but reversed course following demonstrations in Kyiv and pushback from foreign financial backers.
In November 2025, anti-graft investigators uncovered a $100 million money-laundering scheme within the energy domain involving Timur Mindich, a close associate of Zelenskyy who fled the country to evade prosecution.
In May 2026, anti-graft personnel exposed another money-laundering operation totaling roughly 8.9 million euros tied to a high-end real estate project near Kyiv.
The fallout from these scandals prompted the departures of several ministers alongside Zelenskyy’s former chief of staff, Andriy Yermak. The latter was remanded in custody, but after posting $3.1 million in bail, he was transitioned to house arrest.