‘Democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia’: Ousted after clashing with Ukraine’s top general, Mykhailo Fedorov now argues elections can’t wait for peace

Former Ukraine Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has called for a "legal, safe, and realistic mechanism" to enable the country to "resume a fully functioning democratic process even amid an ongoing war." He argued that if the war persists for several years, Russia could effectively gain the right to decide when Ukrainians can choose their government again.

Fedorov firmly believed that democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia. He recognized that organizing elections would be challenging due to the need for voting rights for service members, Ukrainians living abroad, and residents of frontline areas. Nonetheless, he emphasized that difficulty should not equate to impossibility. Fedorov highlighted that Ukraine had overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles before and believed that a solution could be found in this context as well.

He reiterated that democracy is not a luxury for peacetime; it is integral to the fight for freedom today. Fedorov served as the defense minister since January 2026. He was dismissed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in July amid a disagreement with the Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi. Following the dismissal, protests erupted, leading to Syrskyi's own dismissal shortly after.

Demonstrations are still ongoing, demanding Fedorov's reinstatement. Meduza, the news outlet responsible for this report, is dedicated to transparency regarding its use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story was written by one of their human journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model, which has undergone rigorous testing and refinement to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of the English-language content.

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