Press Service of the President of Ukraine. CC BY 4.0 · source
.jpg){kind=link}
Composite story
Zelenskyy says wartime elections would ‘split’ Ukraine after Fedorov’s call for a vote
The president, answering his ousted defense minister in public for the first time, calls a wartime ballot a tsunami. Fedorov says democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov’s call for elections during the war with Russia, saying a vote now would be a tsunami that would split the country. Ukrainian law already bans wartime elections. Fedorov, fired in July after six months and a clash with the army commander, posted that democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia and that Kyiv faces a systemic governance crisis. Zelenskyy also said some of Fedorov’s later actions, including joining protests, were misguided. Analysts doubt a wartime vote is logistically possible.
Disputed facts
None yet.
Zelenskyy says wartime elections could ‘destroy’ Ukraine
23 Aug 2026
Facts
The political crisis is playing out as Kyiv seeks more ways to curtail Russian air strikes.
Emergency services said overnight Russian strikes in Donetsk killed two people and wounded two on Sunday.
A drone attack on Kharkiv wounded eight people, including a child, the service said.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine is focused on hitting Russian ballistic launchers as Moscow uses more missiles.
A Russian drone hit a Zhytomyr-to-Odesa passenger train in the Odesa region, Ukrainian Railways’ CEO said.
At least 141 private homes were damaged in that attack.
He said Ukraine is hunting nearby sites that launch Russian ballistic missiles.
Ukraine is seeking to produce Patriot missiles at home after political blessing from Trump.
No casualties were reported on that train.
He said Ukraine agreed with France on at least one SAMP/T this year and with Germany on about 600 interceptors through 2028.
Norway said it would give 85 billion crowns ($9.2 billion) to Kyiv for 2027.
Opinion
No opinion marked.
Ukraine's ousted defence minister calls for wartime elections
18 Aug 2026
Facts
Fedorov is 35 and was a longtime Zelenskiy ally.
A recent poll indicated Fedorov would comfortably beat Zelenskiy in a runoff.
Fedorov said he believed his procurement reforms contributed to his sacking.
He was appointed to run the Defence Ministry in January and vowed a data-driven overhaul.
Zelenskiy's office had no immediate comment.
Opinion
Reuters called it the biggest internal challenge to Zelenskiy since Russia's invasion.
Critics blame Syrskyi for heavy troop losses at the front.
Fedorov said the people have long been ready for a different country.
He said the state must become worthy of its people.
Zelenskyy details rift with dismissed defense minister
23 Aug 2026
Facts
Zelenskyy said Fedorov’s actions, including protest involvement and election calls, were misguided.
He said Ukrainian forces have almost completely recaptured Dnipropetrovsk, with about 10 square kilometers still under Russian control.
Zelenskyy said he still has a very positive attitude toward Fedorov.
Zelenskyy said Trump later told him Musk had rejected the proposal and accused him of misleading the U.S. president.
Zelenskyy appeared to link Fedorov to an awkward Starlink episode with Elon Musk.
He said the Defense Ministry told him SpaceX had agreed to Starlink over Russian territory for deep strikes.
Zelenskyy said Trump accused him of deception because Musk denied Starlink on Russian territory.
The comments also covered the battlefield, peace talks, the budget, and turmoil over Fedorov’s dismissal.
Zelenskyy said he raised the Starlink issue directly with Trump.
He said the Defense Ministry then told him that maybe that was so.
He told Trump that Musk had confirmed the proposed use.
Zelenskyy did not explicitly accuse Fedorov of lying.
Musk considered the move a dangerous escalation, according to Zelenskyy.
The two sides then sought Musk’s confirmation and discussed financing.
He said Russia had occupied about 990 square kilometers this year, while Ukraine restored about 820.
He said Russia still wants the Konstantynivka-Sloviansk-Kramatorsk axis and a Ukrainian withdrawal from Donbas.
He said only about 10 square kilometers and three small villages in Dnipropetrovsk remain outside Ukrainian control.
He said Russia could eventually produce up to 1,300 ballistic missiles a year, versus about 600 now.
He said another operation’s results were expected by the end of August.
He hoped Ukraine could buy even 5% or 10% of U.S. reserves.
Ukraine has also struck warehouses of Russian online retailers including Wildberries and Ozon.
Kalashnyk said a Russian drone hit a Kharkiv-region electric train, killing a woman and wounding four.
Orenburg officials said Ukrainian drone debris hit two industrial sites including an Ozon warehouse.
Belgorod authorities said one person was killed and six wounded in Ukrainian drone attacks.
A woman also died in a drone attack in the Tula region.
Opinion
Zelenskyy said slogans calling Syrskyi and Khmara the devil went too far.
He said the military made peaceful protests in the capital possible.
He predicted Ukraine could reach territorial parity by the end of 2026.
Sacked Ukrainian defence minister calls for presidential election
23 Aug 2026 revised 19 Aug 2026
Facts
He did not mention Zelensky by name in the video.
Zelensky had not directly responded to the video.
Zelensky’s five-year term ended in May 2024.
After Trump said Kyiv was using war to avoid a vote, Zelensky said Ukraine could be ready in 60-90 days if allies guaranteed security.
Four people were killed when a drone hit a minibus in Kherson on Wednesday.
A local official said a drone strike on Zhytomyr police headquarters killed two officers and injured 20.
In a month he went from demanding his old job back to calling for widespread political change.
Opinion
The call is widely seen as the biggest challenge to Zelensky since the 2022 invasion.
He said Ukraine is fighting because it wants to remain a free European state.
He called for a state where institutions are stronger than names.
The BBC said Fedorov’s name is now doing the rounds after the intervention.
She said Zelensky is the safest option for now, but she hopes for a new president after the war.
Zelenskyy dismisses Ukraine’s popular Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov
15 Jul 2026
Facts
News of a cabinet revamp on Sunday drew most criticism over Fedorov’s possible dismissal.
He also listed a Crimea logistics campaign and an unpopular military reform.
Fedorov was expected to be replaced by Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.
He thanked everyone defending Ukraine and working for victory.
Earlier Wednesday Zelenskyy declined to say if he would dismiss Fedorov, saying he wants the military united.
Fedorov said he did not finish transforming the Defence Ministry to NATO standards.
He said the priority is army-ministry dialogue, recruitment, and closing the sky.
Klymenko led the National Police from 2019 to 2023 and became interior minister after Denys Monastyrsky died.
He thanked his team for 24/7 service.
Euronews said parliament should support Klymenko’s nomination.
He said a new structure was in place, many people were made redundant, and processes were in motion.
He launched a campaign of “turning Crimea into an island” against Russian logistics there.
Opinion
He said it was necessary to be more decisive in dismissing people who held back changes.
Fedorov is highly respected in Ukrainian civil society.