Ukraine seems to be slowly losing the war against Russia, he told the "Reuters" agency. ousted Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, warning that Kiev has months to make key decisions needed to turn the tide in its favor.
Fedorov, a young reformer whose dismissal last month sparked weeks of protests, said Ukraine lacks an overall vision of how to win the four-year conflict and is hampered by its inability to innovate.
“Entrenched corruption and clientelistic networks, as well as the lack of political independence of state institutions, are also hindering the country's development,“ he said in an interview.
“I think we are now at a turning point that will determine our future direction, but it seems that we are gradually and slowly losing,“ Fedorov said, a significant departure from Kiev's official rhetoric.
Ukraine still has “every chance” to win, but urgently needs a plan to end the war, he added.
In response to Fedorov's comments, Ukraine's presidential office said that when he was in the ministry, he spoke positively about the way the war was being fought, and that the only thing that had changed was his personal status.
Russia has been shelling Ukrainian factories and warehouses with dozens of ballistic missiles a month, with Ukraine in most cases unable to shoot them down due to the depletion of its stock of interceptor missiles. Although Russia has captured less territory than last year, it is still advancing slowly in the Donbas, while the few Ukrainian infantry positions on the front are manned mostly by unmotivated conscripts.
For its part, Ukraine has stepped up its drone and missile attacks deep inside Russia, striking key military facilities, causing severe damage to oil refineries and fuel shortages across the country.
A poll conducted in late July found that 82% of Ukrainians believe Ukraine will win, although most expect the fighting to continue into 2027 or beyond.
Fedorov, 35, was fired six months into his appointment after he initiated reforms to public procurement and mobilization that put him at odds with the military leadership and his political rivals.
The past Last week, he shook up Ukrainian politics by becoming the first major political figure to call for elections during the war, describing the situation as a “systemic” crisis of governance.
Fedorov stressed the importance of developing autonomous drones controlled by artificial intelligence, low-cost interceptor missiles to stop Russian air attacks, and Ukraine’s own ballistic missile program to help turn the tide of the war.
Ukrainian manufacturers are already working on these technologies, but Fedorov said the country needs a unified and comprehensive strategy to get the most out of them when they are deployed. He presented a vision of a frontline covered in electronic sensors to detect the enemy, as well as drones on the ground and in the air, so that the presence of humans on the battlefield is minimized. "The technologies that can completely stop the Russians already exist, but the lack of a clear vision on our part... means we are not implementing them," he said.
Fedorov claims to have been a driving force behind this year's drone campaign against Russian fuel resources and military logistics in occupied southern Ukraine, which has created problems for Russian forces on the front lines.
He said there was still a window of several months in which the operation could be extended to isolate Russian-occupied Crimea before Moscow could find a way to counter Ukrainian tactics. This campaign of strikes was a significant factor in changing assessments of Ukraine's prospects in the war.
Fedorov's call for elections was met with discontent among many Ukrainians, and polls consistently show low support for holding elections during the war.
Zelensky condemned Fedorov's call for elections, saying it could destroy Ukraine as it fights Russia.
Since the Russian invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has been under martial law, which prohibits elections for security reasons. The president has said that Fedorov may have been pressured by external forces to call for elections. Fedorov has strongly denied this.
While there are enormous logistical challenges to holding elections during wartime, Fedorov said Ukraine will find innovative solutions. However, he said it was too early to say whether he would run for president. In the meantime, Fedorov plans to divide his time between his efforts to restore Ukraine's electoral process and ventures related to innovative military technologies, including an investment fund he plans to raise capital for during an upcoming trip to the United States.