Ex-Ukrainian defence minister calls for wartime elections

Ukraine's ousted Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has called for wartime elections in a video address, arguing the nation faces a governance crisis. He claims Ukraine must find a legal, safe and realistic mechanism to renew its full democratic process in the conditions of a long war. The 35-year-old, a longtime ally of President Volodymyr Zelensky, was fired from the Defence Ministry in July after six months in office, sparking protests and a bitter rift between the two men.

Fedorov, who believes his reforms in the Defence Ministry contributed to his dismissal, suggested a new, legal mechanism to handle wartime elections, despite Ukraine's law prohibiting them during wartime.