Ex-defence minister explains when he will decide whether to run in elections

Ukraine's Former Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said he was not opposed to any particular politician and would decide whether to take part in possible elections once preparations for the process had been made.

Source: Fedorov in an interview with 24 Kanal

Quote: "I am currently not opposed to any particular politician or party. I am definitely opposed to the old system, to the corruption that exists…

A lot of people interpreted the video [Fedorov's video address – ed.] as me starting some kind of campaign. But in fact, if you watch the video carefully, I talked about certain principles and values, about the need to restore the democratic process. That is the key idea behind all of this, and it is a difficult path that needs to be taken. But it is not as difficult as most people currently think."

Details: Fedorov said the format of his possible participation in presidential or parliamentary elections would be decided "when we get to that process".

"Right now, it is very important to prepare the elections so that they are unbiased and do not favour a particular candidate or party… And when we reach that point, because we will 100% reach it, then I will look at how we have travelled this path, who we travelled it with, how everyone has conducted themselves, and I will decide whether to support someone, act independently, or not go any further at all," Fedorov said.

Fedorov recalled that in December 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed parliament to develop mechanisms for holding elections during the war.

"And for six months, a group of MPs worked with experts to develop them. I'll tell you more: 60-70% of this legislation has already been drafted. And specific mechanisms have already been worked out for each category of people. So I wasn't even the first to raise this discussion. It had already been raised, and a large number of solutions had already been developed," he said.

Regarding voting by Ukrainians abroad, Fedorov proposed using online tools to pre-register those wishing to vote in elections, in order to determine the number of polling stations needed in each country and the duration of voting.

"In fact, voting does not have to take place on just one day. In the US, there is early voting, and voting takes place over more than a week. Here, we could have several days for countries with large numbers of Ukrainians. The same applies inside the country," he suggested.

As for military personnel, Fedorov said that around half of them were not on frontline territories and could vote at ordinary polling stations.

"A large number of military personnel serving in military groupings are located in major cities – Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv and Dnipro. Underground schools, nurseries and government offices also operate in these cities. Why couldn't people vote in underground premises there if the process lasted several days rather than just one? But this needs to be worked out further with experts," the former minister added.

Background:

• On 18 August, Mykhailo Fedorov called for Ukraine not to allow Russia to decide when Ukrainians would be able to elect their government again.
• BBC sources reported that the Office of the President saw "a lack of realism" in Mykhailo Fedorov's idea of holding elections.
• Fedorov's team told Ukrainska Pravda that his call for elections did not mean he wants "to hold them tomorrow", but urges the government to thoroughly prepare for them and address all issues related to the process in detail.

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