Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has warned that Ukraine risks gradually losing its war against Russia unless Kyiv makes urgent strategic and institutional changes, saying the country has only several months to take key decisions capable of shifting the trajectory of the conflict.
“I think that there’s now a turning point which will determine our future trajectory,” Fedorov told Reuters in an interview published Tuesday, Aug. 25. “But it looks as though we’re gradually, slowly losing.”
His comments represent a sharp departure from Kyiv’s official wartime messaging and come amid an increasingly public dispute between Fedorov and President Volodymyr Zelensky following the former minister’s dismissal last month.
Ukraine’s presidential office pushed back against Fedorov’s assessment, telling Reuters that he had spoken positively about the conduct of the war while serving as defense minister and that what had changed since then was his personal position.
‘5% effectiveness’
The former minister also directed unusually harsh criticism at the Ukrainian state apparatus, telling Reuters that entrenched corruption, patronage networks and political interference had prevented institutions from functioning effectively.
He alleged the Ukrainian government was operating at only “5% effectiveness.”
His criticism comes amid a widening political confrontation with Zelensky.
Election dispute
The Reuters interview also follows Fedorov’s controversial call last week for Ukraine to hold elections despite the continuing war.
Zelensky strongly rejected the proposal, saying wartime elections could “destroy” Ukraine by creating political divisions while the country is fighting Russia.
Ukraine has remained under martial law since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, preventing national elections from being held.
Fedorov denied Zelensky’s suggestion that outside forces could be encouraging his election push and said Ukraine could develop innovative solutions to the substantial logistical and security problems involved in organizing a vote during wartime.
He said it remains too early to say whether he would seek the presidency himself.
Fedorov now plans to divide his efforts between campaigning for the restoration of elections and developing military technology projects, including an investment fund for which he intends to seek financing during an upcoming trip to the US.