Fedorov: call for elections is not an attack on Zelensky, but an “operating system update”

Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said in an interview with the Financial Times that his call for elections is not directed against incumbent President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“This is not directed against Zelensky, it is not against any specific person. It is about the fact that we need to… update the operating system of the state,” Fedorov said.

On August 18, Fedorov declared a governance crisis in Ukraine and called for presidential and parliamentary elections. The former minister stressed that power must serve the country, not itself, and that an election campaign is necessary to restore the democratic process.

In July, Zelensky dismissed Fedorov. According to media reports, one of the reasons for the dismissal was a conflict between the defense minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky. Fedorov himself, however, offered a different explanation for his removal — according to him, the decision was connected to a reform of procurement within the defense ministry.

Previously, Fedorov also called on Zelensky to answer questions about corruption.