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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The former defense minister, after more than a month of protests, spoke about elections during the war, corruption, and a “systemic crisis of governance”
Former Ukrainian defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov addressed Ukrainians after more than a month of protests across the country. In his statement he raised issues of corruption, public administration, elections during wartime, and public trust in the authorities. This was reported by Glavcom with reference to Fedorov.
Elections and democracy during the war
“Today, after more than a month of protests across the country, I want to thank everyone for their support and active stance. I am confident change is possible. And necessary,” Fedorov said.
One of the topics of the address was the situation in the Ministry of Defense. According to Fedorov, during a full-scale war Ukraine cannot remain without a fully appointed head of the defense ministry.
“In such a situation the country cannot remain without a fully appointed minister of defense. That is not normal. In a country that fights for its existence every day, defense policy cannot be run in a temporary mode,” he emphasized.
At the same time, Fedorov said the problem is much broader than a single post or a single ministry. In his view, the state must determine how democratic institutions should function if the war continues for several more years.
The former minister is convinced that Ukraine must find a lawful, safe, and realistic mechanism to restore a full democratic process even under prolonged war conditions.
“Democracy cannot be a hostage of Russia. We are fighting precisely because we want to remain a free European state. Therefore we must find a lawful, safe, and realistic mechanism that will allow Ukraine to restore a full democratic process, even under prolonged war,” Fedorov said.
He said that to do this it is necessary to ensure the voting rights of servicemembers, the millions of Ukrainians abroad, and residents of front-line regions. He named electoral security, institutional independence, and trust in the results as separate challenges.
“We must not let Putin decide when Ukrainians can choose their government. Ukrainian democracy must not depend on the goodwill of the Kremlin,” he emphasized.
Corruption, governance, and trust in the authorities
Fedorov devoted a separate section of his address to corruption. He noted that during the war embezzlement of budget funds directly affects the country’s defense capability. According to him, stolen money can mean drones, ammunition, EW systems, evacuation transport, or technologies that were not launched into production.
At the same time, Fedorov called corruption only a manifestation of a broader problem. “The main problem is much deeper. We have a systemic crisis of governance. The old system too often lives by its own rules,” the former minister said.
Fedorov also criticized the situation in which the criterion for personnel appointments can become not a person’s professionalism or effectiveness, but their personal loyalty to the system. He called to restore accountability for results at all levels of government.
“If you received authority – be accountable for the result. If you received a budget – show what was done. If you received a position – explain what results you achieved,” Fedorov said.
In his view, one of the greatest risks for the state has become the gradual erosion of trust between the authorities and society. Fedorov called to form a new social contract under which citizens trust the state and the state honestly explains its decisions and fulfills its obligations.
Recall that in July President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a government reshuffle. After the resignation of Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko, members of her Cabinet remained temporarily in their posts until a new government is formed. 15 in July it became known that Zelensky plans to offer the post of defense minister to Ihor Klymenko. At the same time Mykhailo Fedorov confirmed that he was leaving the Ministry of Defense. That decision sparked peaceful actions in Kyiv and other cities demanding Fedorov be returned to his post.
20 in July the government assigned temporary performance of the duties of minister of defense to Yevhen Khmara. As Fedorov later explained, a temporary head can take part in Cabinet meetings but does not have the right to vote when decisions are made.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Федоров звернувся до народу – Главком – Підозра". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: AgroDay – uncensored on the main issues.
