Sacked minister says Zelensky must answer questions on corruption claims

Ukraine’s former defence minister has told the BBC that President Volodymyr Zelensky should face direct questions about what he knew regarding corruption within his own government, adding fresh pressure on the president following a major money laundering investigation last week. Mykhailo Fedorov, who was dismissed last month after a reported falling out with the head of Ukraine’s armed forces, said the recent case meant Zelensky needed to clarify his awareness of any wrongdoing among those close to him.

Fedorov, who built a reputation as an energetic reformer credited with modernizing Ukraine’s military and expanding its drone warfare capabilities, stopped short of accusing the president of personal involvement in corruption. He said that during his time working alongside Zelensky, he never once received an instruction that conflicted with the law or his own sense of integrity.

The 35 year old former minister also renewed his call for Ukraine to hold elections during wartime, days after he posted a video making the same appeal. He argued that democracy should not become a hostage to Russian President Vladimir Putin, though he declined to confirm any personal political ambitions.

Fedorov’s dismissal sparked angry protests, but public support faded and the demonstrations ended on Wednesday once his replacement took office. His renewed push for elections has drawn widespread rejection from Ukrainian officials and commentators.

Asked whether he missed his former role, Fedorov said he did not, pointing to the constant strain of running the defense ministry while simultaneously managing Ukraine’s war effort against Russia.

Ukraine has operated under martial law since Russia launched its full scale invasion in 2022, a status that has suspended national elections. Zelensky’s five year presidential term technically expired in May 2024. Fedorov argued he still holds a moral right to raise the subject of elections publicly, saying open discussion forms the foundation of democracy and that avoiding the topic undermines the very system Ukraine is defending.

In his earlier video, Fedorov said citizens cannot indefinitely live without understanding the reasoning behind major government decisions. He avoided direct criticism of Zelensky throughout his BBC interview and declined to say whether he would support the president in a future election.

Zelensky, in remarks released Sunday, said he views wartime elections as an unacceptable gamble for the country. He described elections held under current conditions as a serious risk that could deeply divide Ukraine. Analysts have pointed to numerous logistical obstacles that would complicate any wartime vote, including how to accommodate soldiers on the front line, millions of Ukrainian refugees abroad and residents of Russian occupied territories, alongside concerns about Russian disinformation campaigns targeting the process.

Fedorov’s video calling attention to political corruption emerged the day before Ukraine’s anti corruption bureau announced a money laundering investigation involving lawmakers and bankers. Investigators said they uncovered a scheme that misappropriated more than three million dollars in Ukrainian currency, funds allegedly used to help post bail for a former energy minister facing money laundering charges. A senior official in Zelensky’s office, implicated in the scheme, has since been dismissed.

Fedorov said unanswered questions remain about how much the president knew regarding potential corruption within his inner circle, and said Zelensky bears responsibility for addressing those questions publicly rather than leaving assumptions unresolved.

A spokesperson for the president pushed back on Fedorov’s comments, noting that the former minister served in every government since 2019 and questioning why he now speaks as though those administrations operated separately from his own involvement, adding that Fedorov made no comparable public statements during that period.

Fedorov maintained that he worked to eliminate corrupt practices within defense procurement during his tenure, though he warned that lingering corruption continues to affect frontline military capacity. He said he has had no contact with Zelensky for roughly two weeks and reiterated that he has no direct evidence the president engaged in corrupt behavior himself.

Beyond the political controversy, Fedorov discussed his ongoing role in shaping Ukraine’s military technology strategy. As both former digital transformation minister and defense minister, he is widely credited with driving the country’s shift toward drone based warfare, an approach that reduced reliance on soldiers for dangerous missions and enabled long range strikes deep into Russian territory, hitting military sites, oil refineries and supply depots far across the border.

Fedorov confirmed plans to travel to the United States in the coming weeks, where he hopes to meet with Elon Musk. He said Starlink, Musk’s satellite communications system, has played a critical role in Ukraine’s battlefield success, and he intends to press Musk on expanding the technology’s reach into Russian airspace to support Ukrainian operations without giving the Kremlin any corresponding benefit. He said leading technology firms remain committed to supporting Ukraine’s path toward ending the war and stressed the importance of maintaining those relationships regardless of his current position.

Fedorov also criticized what he described as excessive bureaucracy among Ukraine’s international partners, including the United Kingdom, for slowing the delivery of promised military equipment. Britain has committed sixteen billion pounds to supplying Ukraine with weapons since the war began, and British made drones were confirmed last week to have been used in strikes against Russian targets. Fedorov said he remains grateful for British assistance but argued that red tape across multiple allied governments has delayed equipment that was pledged months or years earlier.

He called for more direct investment in Ukraine’s domestic drone production rather than continued support for older military hardware that has become less relevant to the current fight, noting that Ukrainian forces no longer rely heavily on tanks and therefore do not need tank repair support. He argued that faster equipment deliveries would ultimately save lives on both sides of the alliance, since Ukraine’s battlefield experience continues to inform military strategy among its international partners.

Fedorov denied any immediate plan to run for president but did not rule out the possibility in the future, saying any such decision would depend on when Ukraine can safely restart its democratic electoral process, along with his own capacity, team and readiness to take on that level of responsibility. He added that the more important factor would be whether the public expresses trust in him to hold that position.

The renewed public dispute over corruption and elections comes at a sensitive moment for Ukraine, as the country balances wartime governance with mounting pressure for transparency, and it highlights the tension between maintaining unified leadership during an active conflict and addressing long standing public demands for accountability within Zelensky’s administration.