Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s former defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, demanded the country hold new elections, mounting a direct political challenge to his former boss.
Fedorov served as defense minister from January to July, when Zelensky fired him as part of a government shake-up. He distinguished himself as a young, media-savvy, public-facing technocrat who sought to transition the country’s military rapidly into a drone-centered force. Though widely popular in the country, he was much less popular within the military, and his feud with then-Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky ultimately led to his dismissal. Rather than going quietly, Fedorov began kicking up a public storm right after his firing, triggering a political crisis that ultimately brought down Syrsky with him.
