Ukraine’s ex-Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who was ousted last month, recently called for wartime elections in a YouTube video posted on August 18. Fedorov was the youngest minister in Ukraine’s history when he was appointed at age 28 as the Minister of Digital Transformation in 2019. Just this January 2026, Fedorov was appointed as defence minister with 277 votes from Parliament (out of 424 active deputies). But in July, Fedorov was removed from his position by President Volodymyr Zelensky to resolve the internal conflict between Fedorov and Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.

Behind Ukraine’s successful drone campaign against Russia stood Fedorov, who championed the use of technology on the battlefield early in the war. Fedorov’s drone program has earned him the support of many Ukrainians, as it has allowed for fewer military casualties. However, his approaches to technology and recruitment clashed with other members of Ukraine’s defence ministry—including Syrskyi. Fedorov and others have accused Syrskyi of stalling technological innovations, military reforms, and the widespread integration of drones.

Born in Russia’s Vladimir region, which was then part of the Soviet Union, and educated at the Moscow Higher Military Command School, Syrskyi upholds the old-school, Soviet-style command culture. Although he was praised for successfully defending Ukraine’s capital Kyiv from Russia, he also faced many criticisms for his high-attrition defensive style, most notably in the defence of Bakhmut, in what many have regarded as one of the bloodiest battles since WWII. To his critics, his refusal to withdraw troops from Bakhmut signaled a willingness to suffer massive casualties and a recklessness for human life, earning him the nickname “the Butcher.”

After Fedorov was removed, thousands of Ukrainians have rallied in the streets and outside the Ukrainian Parliament, protesting his dismissal, calling for his reinstatement and the sacking of Syrskyi, who is widely believed to have caused Fedorov’s removal due to their different battlefield approaches. On July 21, following nationwide protests, President Zelensky replaced 60-year-old General Syrskyi with 43-year-old Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi, who before the change was the commander of Ukraine’s Armed Forces.

Volodymyr Yermolenko, the editor-in-chief of ukraineworld.org, explained this decision as a form of populism. “Zelensky is a populist, and populists pay attention to public opinion. Sometimes this is not a bad thing. At least we know that social pressure counts in our country,” he said in a Facebook post.

Zelensky has refused to reinstate Fedorov. On Wednesday, Parliament voted to approve Yevhen Khmara as Fedorov’s successor. In his nine-minute video stressing the need for democracy, 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.”

Calling for an election during wartime has its own difficulties. The legitimacy of such elections is an issue. Under Ukraine’s constitution and the martial law adopted after Russia’s 2022 invasion, wartime elections are strictly prohibited. How Ukrainians’ votes would be tallied poses another challenge to Fedorov’s proposal. It would take at least six months to “implement legislative reforms and get the technology in place to conduct a vote that would meet European standards,” according to a recent C.N.N. report. Another major challenge is collecting the votes of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers fighting on the frontline and millions of Ukrainian refugees living abroad. If an election were held, an incomplete vote count could be used to contest the legitimacy of the result.

Fedorov’s demand for an election directly challenges Zelensky’s authority and intensifies the tensions in the government. Instability only helps Russia. In two recent polls, Fedorov is projected to defeat Zelensky in a hypothetical runoff election. It’s hard to believe that Fedorov does not understand the challenges and consequences at play. In his video, he complained that corruption in the government is debilitating military efforts on the frontline. He also hinted that he was dismissed because of his efforts to eliminate corruption. Fedorov is likely using a wartime election to pressure Zelensky to address the corruption in his administration.