A New Defense Minister, but Not the One Ukrainians Wanted

On 19 August, the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv confirmed Yevhen Khmara, acting minister of defense and acting head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), as minister of defense. President Volodymyr Zelensky had proposed the appointment, which required 226 votes and received 312.

Demonstrations in support of former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, meanwhile, have been continuing outside parliament for a second month. The government of Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko fell on 14 July, and rumors soon spread that the defense minister would be replaced in the reshuffle. Protests erupted the moment Zelensky confirmed them, on the evening of 15 July.

Ukrainian Acting Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara before a reburial ceremony for Yevhen Konovalets, one of founders and leaders of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), at the National Military Memorial Cemetery outside of Kyiv, Ukraine, August 18, 2026. Photo: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters — Khmara's appointment closes one crisis for President Zelensky even as calls for wartime elections grow louder. Photo: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters

A Popular General, an Unpopular Minister

Zelensky's decision to replace Oleksandr Syrskyi with Mykhailo Drapatyi as commander-in-chief pleased many Ukrainians. His choice for defense minister did not. According to a source at the RBK-Ukraine portal, Zelensky justified Fedorov's dismissal at the party convention, saying Fedorov had a different approach to waging war than Syrskyi.

As a second reason, Zelensky reportedly said Fedorov had failed to coordinate government procurement adequately with the General Staff. Following Syrskyi's dismissal, only the second reason still applies, along with any others Zelensky has not disclosed.

In protest at Zelensky's decision, the Air Force's deputy commander, Colonel Pavel Yelizarov, also resigned. He described Fedorov's dismissal as a "great evil" for the country's defense capabilities. Street protests gradually spread to most of Ukraine's unoccupied cities.

By law, Khmara could not become permanent minister while remaining a member of the armed forces. His appointment therefore came with his simultaneous dismissal from the post of head of the SBU.

Former Ukraine's Minister of Defence Mykhailo Fedorov speaks at a joint press conference with his Swedish counterpart Pal Jonson (not pictured), as Swedish defence equipment maker Saab signs a contract to deliver Gripen E fighter aircraft to Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, July 1, 2026. Photo: Alina Smutko/Reuters — Mykhailo Fedorov, dismissed as defense minister in July, broke his silence on 18 August to call for wartime elections. Photo: Alina Smutko/Reuters

The Case for a Wartime Vote

On the evening of 18 August, on the eve of the parliamentary session on the new defense minister's appointment, Fedorov said in a YouTube statement that Ukrainians are living through one of the most difficult periods in their nation's history, threatened not only by daily Russian attacks but also by corruption.

Several Ukrainian media outlets published the speech in full. Until then, the dismissed minister had stayed out of politics and away from the protests. On 18 August, however, he broke his silence to declare that the country needs elections.

"And next, what if the war lasts another year? Two? Three? Could Russia effectively gain the right to determine when Ukrainians can again choose their government? I am convinced that this is not the case. Democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia. We are fighting precisely because we want to remain a free European state. Therefore, we must find a legal, secure, and realistic mechanism that will allow Ukraine to restore a full-fledged democratic process even in the context of a protracted war", said Fedorov.

A year ago, the idea of a presidential election enjoyed little public support in Ukraine. Since then, scandals linking the president and his inner circle to massive bribery schemes, along with other unpopular decisions and statements, have shifted public opinion, and Fedorov's call has been well received.

The postponed election is one of the most visible consequences of the prolonged state of war, and it also extends the presidential term of Volodymyr Zelensky, the last legitimately elected Ukrainian president.

Former Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba supported the idea of holding both presidential and parliamentary elections during wartime on 18 August. An early end to the war cannot be counted on, he said, and Ukraine's old political faces need replacing, though any campaign would have to be adapted to the ongoing conflict.

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What Does the Law Say?

Article 64 of the Constitution of Ukraine states that "under conditions of martial law or a state of emergency, certain restrictions on rights and freedoms may be imposed, provided that the duration of such restrictions is specified". That provision is supplemented by the Law on Presidential Elections and, further, by Article 19 of the Law on the Legal Regime of Martial Law.

The latter prohibits "the holding of elections for the President of Ukraine, as well as elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and to local self-government bodies".

These provisions were adopted long before Zelensky took office, and similar legislation exists in many countries, Slovakia and Russia among them. The US, by contrast, has no such laws, for historical reasons.

The best-known democratic precedent for extending an electoral term because of war is the United Kingdom, which held no parliamentary election between 1935 and 1945. Parliament renewed its own term each year during the Second World War, and the first postwar election came two months after fighting ended in Europe.

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A Band-Aid for the Protests?

The same day Khmara was confirmed as minister, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) conducted searches at properties linked to Iryna Mudra. The deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine was personally dismissed by the president. Neither Budanov, the head of his office, nor Mudra has commented on the dismissal or the searches.

NABU said that a special operation was underway aimed at uncovering a criminal group led by current and former Ukrainian lawmakers, which also includes high-ranking officials from the Presidential Office.

The case allegedly involves the laundering of 150m hryvnias ($3.36m). Besides Mudra, former lawmaker Vadym Stolar of the Party of Regions, banned after the 2014 revolution, is also a suspect. Stolar has confirmed that the reports of the searches are accurate.