Fedorov’s election gamble backfires as Ukraine protests fade

Mykhailo Fedorov’s attempt to widen his political confrontation with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appears to have backfired, with the wartime protests that demanded his return rapidly losing momentum.

The former defence minister’s call for elections failed to win over demonstrators, many of whom said voting was never what brought them onto the streets.

Thousands rallied. Now only dozens remain

Zelenskiy’s decision to remove Fedorov in July triggered rare wartime protests in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. Supporters argued his dismissal was poorly explained and risked damaging Ukraine’s war effort against Russia.

But parliament has now approved Zelenskiy’s replacement, Yevhenii Khmara. By Wednesday evening, only a few dozen protesters remained in central Kyiv.

“When we came out to protest, we did not come with the idea that elections should be held,” 22-year-old Iryna Vasyliaka told Reuters.

Election call exposes a political miscalculation

Fedorov, regarded as a potential future challenger to Zelenskiy, warned Ukraine was facing a governance crisis and pushed for wartime elections.

But the move collided with public sentiment. A Kyiv International Institute of Sociology poll found 57% of Ukrainians wanted elections only after the fighting ends.

Even the protest movement’s organisers struggled to see how voting could work while soldiers remain at the front and millions of Ukrainians live abroad or under occupation.

Analysts said Fedorov had misjudged the mood and risked burning political capital before elections are realistically possible.

Zelenskiy survives another political test

The episode nevertheless highlights the pressure facing Zelenskiy after more than four years of war, alongside recurring disputes over corruption and military management.

His approval rating remains around 60%, according to the report, while Ukrainian strikes against Russian energy and logistics targets have helped bolster morale.

For now, the political battlefield has shifted back towards wartime unity. But the protests have also shown that Ukrainians want change — just not necessarily an election while the war continues.

Analysis-ousted Ukrainian defence minister's gamble against Zelenskiy backfires as protests end