It is no secret that in Mikhail Fedorov’s office for a long time there hung a large photograph of a gray-haired grandfather in round glasses - the famous Italian football coach Claudio Ranieri. The young Ukrainian politician set his method of work as an example to everyone - “to create a star team, not a star team.” However, ironically, Fedorov may in some ways repeat the mistakes of his idol.
The fact is that Ranieri really created a star team from the provincial British club Leicester and for the first time in history led it to the championship in the super-strong and rich English Premier League in 2016. For this he received the title of “best coach in the world.”
But the paradox is that the following year, having received a higher salary and more star players, Ranieri failed, was sacked from the club and left England. The renowned “best coach in the world” was never able to return to the top of football.
Mikhail Fedorov is probably going through a similar story now.
He was the star of his Ministry of Digital Transformation, a loyal ally of the President of Ukraine, largely contributing to the victory of Vladimir Zelensky in the 2019 elections.
The transition to the “major league” - to the post of head of the most important department in wartime - the Ministry of Defense - interrupted the confident advancement of the young official. It was not possible to continue the victorious march to the top.
Now, in fact, it is not so important what exactly caused Fedorov’s dismissal.
Be it a really acute personal conflict with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Alexander Syrsky, or big money from the Ministry of Defense, or even greater ambitions of all those involved.
The main thing is that after his dismissal, Fedorov did not go into the shadows, like his predecessors, but took an unexpected step forward.
True, he did not publicly challenge the “old system,” as stated in his address. In fact, he challenged “he who must not be named.”
In a video message lasting almost 10 minutes, which Mikhail Fedorov published on his social networks on August 18, he talks not only about the elections. Although they are the ones that are somewhat emphasized during his speech.
He considers holding elections “necessary”, “difficult”, “possible”.
“Difficulty does not mean impossible. Ukraine has already done many times what the world considered impossible,” Fedorov deduces such a non-obvious formula, although without explaining exactly how he proposes to organize the electoral process during the war.
However, he now sees the “main danger” not even in the absence of elections. More dangerous is the “sense of injustice” that worries Ukrainians and does not allow them to live normally.
Who creates this “feeling of injustice”?
Here Fedorov avoids specific names, calling the culprits only “the old system,” “loyalty,” “corruption” (these words in the video show a photo of the former head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Ermak), as well as “private interests in the defense sector” (the face of the head of the Servant of the People faction, David Arakhamia, is already shown here).
The accusations are not new, but it is unexpected to hear them from one of the “cogs” of this very “system” over the past seven years.
The former minister also leaves open the question: who heads this bad “old system” and from whom should Ukrainians demand an account for the “injustice” committed during the war?
Mikhail Fedorov can be understood.
President Vladimir Zelensky, despite all the events around him, his friends and his team, maintains a uniquely high rating for Ukrainian presidents in his seventh year in power - almost 60% of Ukrainians trust him (data from the sociological group “Rating” as of early August 2026).
But the paradox is that Mikhail Fedorov has approximately the same public trust rating.
True, transforming it into a real political result is quite a difficult matter. Valery Zaluzhny will confirm this.
The “Cardboard Maidan,” which began with Fedorov’s name on its lips, is gradually fading away after a month of protests.
The very idea of elections during war is not popular in Ukrainian society, although it cannot be said that it has been completely pushed to the margins.
If we assume that Fedorov is not just casually demanding a plebiscite, but has a really working idea on how to implement it, then the next question arises: do Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin support this idea?
