KYIV, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Ukraine's ousted Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov called for wartime elections in a bombshell address on Tuesday, arguing the nation faced a crisis of governance, in the biggest internal challenge to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy since Russia's invasion.
Fedorov's call, delivered in a video address posted on YouTube, is the first such demand by a major Ukrainian political figure since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. Ukrainian law prohibits holding elections during wartime.
"Democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia," Fedorov said. "We must find a legal, safe and realistic mechanism that will allow Ukraine to renew its full democratic process even in the conditions of a long war."
The 35-year-old Fedorov was a longtime ally of Zelenskiy's until his unexpected firing from the Defence Ministry in July, just six months after he had been appointed, vowing sweeping reforms.
Shortly after his dismissal, the tech-savvy Fedorov publicly tore into the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, exposing a bitter rift between the men and their different visions for the war.
Thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets to demand the sacking of Syrskyi — an old-guard military commander blamed by his critics for heavy troop losses at the front line — and Fedorov's reinstatement.
Although Zelenskiy said he had dismissed Fedorov because of his inability to work with Syrskyi, the president fired the military chief shortly afterwards under public pressure.
Protests in support of Fedorov have continued for the past month, losing some of their early momentum but still regularly drawing a couple thousand attendees in Kyiv.
While Fedorov did not say in his address that he would compete in any election, a recent poll indicated the ex-minister would comfortably beat Zelenskiy in a runoff vote, where the top two presidential candidates go head-to-head.
CHALLENGE TO ZELENSKIY
Fedorov's statement came just hours after Zelenskiy confirmed he had asked parliament to confirm new Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara in office on Wednesday.
In what appeared to be an open challenge to Zelenskiy, Fedorov said Ukraine faced a "systemic crisis of governance."
"The old system lives by its own rules too often. It protects itself. It is scared of change," he said.
Without providing names, Fedorov condemned official corruption, which he said hurt Ukraine's war effort.
The ex-minister recently said he believed his reform of the Defence Ministry's procurement processes, responsible for purchasing billions of dollars of equipment, contributed to his sacking.
Zelenskiy's office had no immediate comment on Fedorov's address.
The youngest minister in Ukraine's history when he was appointed aged 28 as Ukraine's digitalisation chief, Fedorov spent six years in that post. He was the last remaining member of Zelenskiy's first cabinet in 2019.
His role running the Ministry of Digital Transformation saw him become an early adopter of drone warfare, which has turned combat in Ukraine on its head since 2022.
However, his nationwide profile grew greatly after his appointment to run the vast Defence Ministry in January, immediately vowing a data-driven overhaul. Unlike his predecessors, Fedorov publicly laid out a strategy to defeat Russia through attrition and technological superiority.
"Our people have long been ready for a different country," Fedorov said in his address. "Now, our state must become worthy of its people."
(Reporting by Max Hunder; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Rod Nickel)
