Ukraine’s dismissed defence minister calls for wartime presidential election

The Guardian · 🇬🇧 public United Kingdom · Aug 18, 2026 · 666 words · By Dan Sabbagh

Internal Ukrainian Political Conflict Wartime Governance Democratic Legitimacy

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What to know about Internal Ukrainian Political Conflict

Ukraine’s recently dismissed former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov has called for a wartime presidential election in the most direct political challenge to Volodymyr Zelenskyy since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

Claims checked 15

Techniques found 1

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Right coverage

Left17%

Center83%

Right0%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

The politician, whose abrupt sacking last month triggered a wave of protests, said that Ukraine had to “restore a full democratic process even amid a prolonged war” in a video address released online late on Tuesday evening.

Common ground

We are fighting precisely because we want to remain a free European state,” Fedorov said in his nine-minute speech.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Internal Ukrainian Political Conflict story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that On Tuesday Zelenskyy formally nominated Yevhen Khmara, the acting defence minister, to take the post permanently?
What happens next if the deal stalls, and who has the power to restart talks?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/18/ukraines-dismissed-defence-ministe…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 60% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 15 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6

schedule Pending 5

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified By Reference 2

help

Claim 1: “On Tuesday Zelenskyy formally nominated Yevhen Khmara, the acting defence minister, to take the post permanently.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the nomination of Yevhen Khmara.

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Claim 2: “he was suddenly dropped by Zelenskyy in a government reshuffle after a falling out with military commander Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi”

CORROBORATED

Web search results and Wikipedia entries confirm Fedorov was removed by Zelenskyy and that his relationship with General Oleksandr Syrskyi had broken down.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mykhailo Albertovych Fedorov (born 21 January 1991) is a Ukrainian politician who served as the Minister of Defence of Ukraine from January to July 2026, when he was dismissed from office by President…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mykhailo_Fedorov

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Oleksandr Stanislavovych Syrskyi (Ukrainian: Олександр Станіславович Сирський; born 26 July 1965) is a Ukrainian military officer holding the rank of four-star general who served as the Commander-in-C…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oleksandr_Syrskyi

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Protests against the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov, sometimes called the pro-Fedorov protests, began on 15 July 2026 after Mykhailo Fedorov, the Minister of Defence of Ukraine, was dismissed from his …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protests_against_the_dismissal…

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 3: “Polling conducted at the turn of the month reported the ex-minister would come third in the first round of a presidential election with 13.1%, behind Zelenskyy on 22.3% and the former head of the armed forces, who is now Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, on 21.4%.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 4: “About a fifth of the country’s territory is also under Russian occupation.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 5: “The same polling, conducted by the Socis Centre for Social Research, also concluded that Zelenskyy would then be defeated in the run-off election by both Fedorov and Zaluzhnyi.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 6: “more than 1 million are serving in the armed forces”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 7: “Street protests followed, leading to the sacking of Syrskyi”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources report that street protests followed Fedorov's dismissal and that Zelenskyy subsequently dismissed General Syrskyi in response to these demands.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 8: “Ukraine uses a two-stage voting system.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 9: “a special rally on Sunday night that attracted about 2,000 people with regular chants of “Fedorov, Fedorov, Fedorov …””

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding a specific rally of 2,000 people chanting Fedorov's name on a Sunday night.

verified

Claim 10: “Fedorov, 35, was Ukraine’s digital minister from 2019 until January”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple web sources confirm Fedorov served as the Minister of Digital Transformation from 2019 until January (specifically January 2026 according to the provided live evidence).

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mykhailo Vasyliovych Drapatyi (Ukrainian: Михайло Васильович Драпатий; born 21 November 1982) is a Ukrainian military officer who has served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine si…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mykhailo_Drapatyi

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 11: “The US president, Donald Trump, has previously demanded that Ukraine hold an election”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources report that Donald Trump has demanded or suggested that Ukraine hold elections.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2019 Trump–Ukraine political scandal arose primarily from the discovery of U.S. president Donald Trump's attempts to coerce Ukraine into investigating his political rival Joe Biden and thus potent…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Trump–Ukraine_scandal

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On July 25, 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a telephone call wherein they discussed a proposed ceasefire for the Russo-Ukrainian War. The ceasefire, b…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Trump–Zelenskyy_phone_cal…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Donald John Trump Jr. (born December 31, 1977), often nicknamed Don Jr., is an American businessman and political activist. He is the eldest child of Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th president of the U…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_Jr.

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 12: “serving in what was considered to be a successful stint as defence minister until July”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and web sources confirm Fedorov served as the Minister of Defence from January until July 2026.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Mempool.space is an open-source Bitcoin blockchain explorer and mempool visualizer developed by The Mempool Open Source Project. It was created in 2018 by the pseudonymous developers Wiz and softsimon…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mempool.space

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Explore the full Bitcoin ecosystem with The Mempool Open Source Project®. See the real-time status of your transactions, get network info, and more.
https://mempool.space/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Explore the full Bitcoin ecosystem with The Mempool Open Source Project®. See the real-time status of your transactions, get network info, and more.
https://mempool.opcatlabs.io/

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Claim 13: “Ukraine’s recently dismissed former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov has called for a wartime presidential election”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web sources confirm that former Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov called for wartime elections following his dismissal.

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web search NEUTRAL — Mykhailo Fedorov, former Ukrainian Defense Minister, has urged the country to hold elections despite the ongoing war, saying Ukraine needs a mechanism that is "legal, safe, and realistically achievabl…
https://en.thairath.co.th/news/foreign/2953838

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web search NEUTRAL — 00:01Ukraine's former defense minister, Mikhailo Fedorov, called for wartime elections just hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy formally nominated Yefren Rmahar.01:22Fedorov had not previously c…
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xaz0i8m

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web search NEUTRAL — On Tuesday, former Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov called for elections despite the continuing war and described Ukraine as facing a governance crisis, while Zelenskyy says wartime law does not allo…
https://www.newswall.org/summary/breaking-fedorov-calls-for-…

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Claim 14: “Elections have been suspended in Ukraine since martial law was imposed at the start of the full-scale invasion by Russia.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results confirm that elections in Ukraine have been postponed/suspended due to the war and the imposition of martial law in accordance with the constitution.

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web search NEUTRAL — Here are the latest developments on Sunday: Extra soldiers: Russia plans to draft an additional 300,000 troops for its war effort after the country's parliamentary elections in mid-September, accordin…
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-latest-zelenskyy-russ…

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web search NEUTRAL — Tensions have grown between Ukraine and Russia since Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014. Questioned by reporters after the UNSC session, Yelchenko said he hopes more sanctions would be imposed on the Russi…
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/latest-german-official-calls-calm-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Russia's full-scale invasion began on Feb.Trump also suggested Ukraine should hold elections, which have been postponed due to the war and the subsequent imposition of martial law, in accordance with …
https://ici.radio-canada.ca/rci/en/news/2142073/ukraines-zel…

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Claim 15: “Zelenskyy’s five-year term ended in May 2024”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including Anadolu Ajansı and Türkiye Today, explicitly state that Zelenskyy's presidential term expired in May 2024.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In May 2023, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, made multiple unannounced trips to several European countries. On 3 May, Zelenskyy travelled to Finland, where he met with the four prime mi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_2023_European_visits_by_Vo…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 21 December 2022, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, visited the United States. During his 10-hour visit, Zelenskyy met with Joe Biden, the president of the United States, held a joint …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_visit_by_Volodymyr_Zelens…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — According to Ukrainian government officials and news sources, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has survived dozens of assassination and kidnapping attempts by Russian or pro-Russian agents dur…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_attempts_on_Volo…

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.