Ukraine must find a way to restore a full democratic process while its war with Russia continues, former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov has argued, warning that Vladimir Putin should not be allowed to determine when Ukrainians can choose their government.
Fedorov said Kyiv should develop a “legal, safe, and realistic mechanism” for elections that protects voting rights for soldiers, citizens living abroad and people in frontline areas.
The intervention comes as Ukraine confronts the political strains of a prolonged war and a government reshuffle that removed Fedorov from the defence ministry earlier this year.
“Democracy is not a peacetime luxury,” Fedorov said in a video address. “Democracy is part of what we are fighting for today.”
His comments reflect a difficult constitutional and practical problem for Kyiv. Holding nationwide elections during an active war would require security arrangements capable of protecting voters and candidates while ensuring that millions of military personnel, displaced citizens and Ukrainians overseas could participate.
Fedorov also used the address to press for greater government accountability, arguing that corruption and administrative failures have direct consequences for Ukraine’s battlefield performance. Money lost through poor management, he said, could otherwise fund drones, ammunition, electronic warfare equipment and vehicles.
“Power must mean responsibility,” he said, calling for officials to demonstrate what they had achieved with public authority and budgets.
The former minister also demanded greater transparency from the government, saying wartime powers should not become a justification for decisions being made without explanation.
His remarks came as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy nominated acting defence minister Yevhen Khmara for the permanent position. Parliament is expected to consider the nomination shortly.
Khmara, a veteran of Ukraine’s security services, previously led the SBU’s Alpha special operations centre and has been associated with Ukraine’s long-range drone campaign against Russia.
Fedorov, who was removed during a government reshuffle and subsequently rejected other roles, has remained a prominent figure in Ukraine’s political debate.
His call places an increasingly consequential question before Kyiv: how to preserve democratic legitimacy without compromising the military effort required to survive the war.
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