By Svitlana Morenets

Aug 27, 2026

The analysis :

Aftermath of Fedorov’s political misstep

About a century ago, political frictions within Ukraine’s ruling elite led to the defeat of the Ukrainian Revolution, costing Ukraine its independence. After the Red Army crushed the last organised Ukrainian military resistance in 1921, the country was condemned to partition and decades of bloody occupation. This lesson from the distant past – that Moscow will always exploit internal divisions to conquer Ukraine – still lingers in the memory of Ukrainians as they fight the 12-year war with Russia. To some extent, many Ukrainians see political rivalry as a greater threat to their homeland than the enemy to the east.

This explains why a single call for wartime elections in Ukraine last week from former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov abruptly ended the mass protests that began in his support. For a month, thousands of demonstrators chanted his name in Kyiv and other cities, demanding his reinstatement as head of the Defence Ministry. Fedorov’s trust rating soared from 35 per cent to 65 per cent after he was ousted in July, surpassing that of Volodymyr Zelensky. However, the rallies dissolved immediately after Fedorov decided to release a dramatic video address that oddly resembled an election manifesto.

Fedorov declared that corruption is undermining Ukraine’s war effort and that Russia should not be allowed to decide when Ukrainians can elect their government. The message was resonating until Ukrainians started questioning the messenger. Fedorov’s criticism of the ‘system’ that he left only a month ago seemed out of place. Since 2019, Fedorov had been Zelensky’s staunchest loyalist; even after being ousted last month, he was eager to return to the system he now opposes, asking for the old job back. Only when it became clear that Fedorov’s seven-year tenure in the President’s team had irrevocably ended did he go into opposition and call for elections.

Zelensky can blame only himself for Fedorov’s metamorphosis into a political foe. The President set the chain of events in motion when he dismissed the popular and effective minister, then failed to explain the decision to thousands of protestors. He was lucky that Fedorov’s explosive video address was a misstep that turned away even his most devoted fans. The demonstrators wanted Fedorov back in his old job, not to become a new president. The rally’s organiser, veteran Dmytro Koziatynskyi, said he views wartime elections negatively and is ‘deeply concerned about how societal divisions during the election process could affect the course of the war’.

Despite growing disappointment with Zelensky over recent corruption scandals engulfing high-ranking officials in his government, most Ukrainians believe wartime elections can be neither safe nor fair. Firstly, because any polling station can be struck by Russian missiles and drones. Secondly, because a million soldiers currently fighting on the front line won’t be able to vote or run for office. And, most importantly, because many fear elections will tear the country apart, leaving Russia to pick up the pieces.

As Ukraine celebrated its independence on Monday, Ukrainians made their priorities clear: ending the war comes first. At the very least, surviving another harsh winter under Russian bombardment. Until then, Fedorov will have to wait in a growing line of candidates for Ukraine’s next president, including Valeriy Zaluzhny, Ukraine’s ambassador to London. Unlike Zaluzhny, who keeps a healthy distance from politics and the media, Fedorov is currently on an interview spree, telling anyone willing to listen how Ukraine is ‘gradually, slowly losing’ the war because of corruption and the lack of grand strategy. Not a bad place to be, watching on the sidelines as Zelensky pays the political cost of it.

Portrait of the week in Ukraine :

• Ukraine’s air force shot down seven Russian ballistic missiles during an overnight attack after Kyiv received Patriot interceptors on its 35th independence day.
• CIA director John Ratcliffe warned Russia against attacking Baltic Nato states during his surprise visit to Moscow this week.
• Russia threatened to attack British factories after Andy Burnham gave Kyiv blueprints to build its own Storm Shadow missiles.
• Ukrainian drones hit logistics facilities belonging to Russia’s second-largest online retailer, Ozon, in at least four regions.
• Up to 70 vessels are waiting near the Danube’s Sulina ​Canal to enter Ukraine’s Black Sea ports after Russian attacks effectively blocked them.
• Elon Musk was awarded Ukraine’s Order of Freedom as Kyiv seeks his permission to use Starlink satellites to guide strikes inside Russia.
• Volodymyr Zelensky’s ex-deputy chief of staff, Iryna Mudra, was charged with organised crime, money laundering and corporate raiding and placed in custody for two months.
• Burnham said that he and other European leaders plan to visit the US next month to persuade Donald Trump to give Ukraine Patriot interceptor missiles ahead of winter.
• Kyiv granted the UK access to its battlefield data to train AI defence systems.
• Belarus is building new railway infrastructure in the Gomel region near Ukraine’s border capable of receiving military trains carrying personnel and heavy equipment.
• The Kremlin will seize private companies deemed to have insufficient protection against Ukrainian drone attacks.
• A fisherman from Yorkshire became the first British national killed fighting for Russian forces in Ukraine.

In pictures :

Kyiv: Andy Burnham plays guitar with a Ukrainian soldier on his first official trip to Kyiv as Prime Minister. (Getty)

Quote of the week

‘As for our military, Ukraine is not in Nato. Estonia is in Nato. If we believe in the strength of Nato, then Estonia – God forbid, but if there are any risks – has more than 30 countries that, in my view, should simultaneously defend any country that is a Nato ally.’

– Volodymyr Zelensky on the possibility of helping the Baltic states in the event of a potential Russian attack

The war in numbers :

£5.2 billion

EU approved in defence loans for Ukraine to spend on air defences

10 million

Books printed in Ukraine destroyed in Russian missile and drone attacks this month

10

Ukrainian soldiers believed missing returned home from Russian captivity in the latest exchange

Wider reading on the war :

• Baltic states arm for Russian threat as leaked letter shows growing fears – Radio Liberty
• Britain’s giving Ukraine access to secret missile technology. Will it make a difference? – CNN
• ‘Everything except nukes’: As the world watches Wildberries, Russia unleashes war on Ukraine’s economy – Kyiv Independent
• Ukraine’s six-month advance on the Oleksandrivka front – Ukrainska Pravda
• Azov Brigade soldier August on the Olenivka explosion and torture in Taganrog – Texty

A note from the author: Thank you for your interest in this newsletter. I hope it helps you to understand my country – and the war – better from a Ukrainian perspective. If you enjoy the Ukraine in Focus newsletter, please forward it to someone you know: you can sign up here. My writing for The Spectator can be found here. All feedback is welcome: svitlana@spectator.co.uk

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