After M. Fedorov’s unexpected call regarding the elections, on Wednesday the National Anti-Corruption Bureau announced a new operation “Forest Gump,” which will investigate high-ranking officials in V. Zelensky’s administration.
As understood, during wartime the acting president must make many unpopular decisions. One of these was the dismissal of M. Fedorov from the post of defense minister, which sparked protests in several Ukrainian cities.
He was removed from office because he tried to fight the old military school, its mysterious and corrupt methods. Now he not only wants reform in the Ukrainian armed forces but also calls to not forget democracy.
“Democracy cannot be a hostage of Russia. We fight precisely because we want to remain a free European state,” he stated in a nine-minute speech delivered moments after the new defense minister Yevhen Khmara was confirmed.
“This is the greatest challenge that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has faced inside the country so far,” the article says.
Elections could paralyze Kyiv
As the article’s author notes, voting for a future president during wartime is almost impossible. Most election experts agree that even in peacetime Ukraine would need six months to implement legal reforms and introduce technologies necessary for voting that meet European standards.
However, so far there is no sign of ceasefire or end of fighting. Elections not “by the book” or those that would strengthen claims that the winner is illegitimate would be a huge gift to Moscow.
Regardless of Russia’s staged election process, the Kremlin constantly spreads its propaganda narrative that the ban on holding elections in Ukraine due to martial law means that V. Zelensky is allegedly an illegitimate president.
Elections could also completely paralyze Kyiv: the losing side could block legal reforms and weaken the president’s institution at every step, CNN noted.
“Fedorov became famous as a brilliant innovator. Could similar skills change the election process and make remote voting possible during wartime? Perhaps. But even digital voting, which could somehow include all frontline soldiers – and let’s not forget that thousands of Ukrainians are missing, and their status remains unresolved – would require a mechanism that would undoubtedly exclude millions of Ukrainian pensioners living without internet,” the author explains.
In his assessment, it would be complete chaos. The journalist guessed that any elections held during the war would still “play” into the hands of Russia and its disinformation and sabotage apparatus.
“Europe would be left with an election result that would be either rushed and a deceptive confirmation of Zelensky, or a failed and unfinished relay handover to another,” the author pondered.
As polls show, the likely winners could be either former military commander Valeriy Zaluzhny or M. Fedorov himself. It is likely that both would lead Ukraine in a similar direction.
“However, both would clear Zelensky’s circle of advisors, which many of the Ukrainian president’s critics believe is responsible for bad decisions and the stench of corruption. But let’s not forget that corruption is an inevitable companion of every war,” CNN writes.
What does Fedorov’s call mean?
A new force has now emerged in Ukrainian politics – young, experienced in power and reforms, aiming to constantly remind Ukraine that its president has deviated from his original election mandate.
This is an easy position because it is based on facts and takes advantage of growing dissatisfaction with the war. When forced mobilization intensifies to replenish Ukraine’s thinning ranks, anger towards the president and the military will also grow.
“Fedorov’s call also highlights the fundamental question that no one can answer. If elections are impossible during wartime, when will this war end? Ahead lies a terrible winter during which Moscow’s advantage in ballistic missiles seems likely to further exploit Ukraine’s lack of Patriot missile defense systems. Russia is gradually approaching its territorial goal – to capture Donbas – even if it turns the remaining Ukrainian-controlled territory uninhabitable by carrying out horrific drone strikes against all signs of civilian and military life,” the article notes.
The journalist pointed out that when he last spoke with V. Zelensky, he did not seem like a person craving power, as he talked about his plans to spend more time with his family after the war.
However, the author concludes that currently there is no suitable mechanism allowing V. Zelensky to step down and hand over power to a real, popular successor unless he resigns and the duties are taken over by the parliamentary speaker, which he considers a very bad idea.
“The ultimate effect of Fedorov’s appeal is that Zelensky is weakening, questions about his electoral legitimacy are growing, and calls to end the war are sounding louder. Moscow will exploit this discord, and Trump – at moments when the situation turns and Ukraine suddenly becomes the ‘bad guy’ – will again call Zelensky a ‘dictator’,” CNN summarizes.
