Sacked Minister: Zelensky Must Answer Corruption Questions

Ukraine's sacked defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, says President Volodymyr Zelensky has "questions to answer" about corruption inside his own government — the sharpest public break yet between the two men.

Fedorov, 35, told the BBC that a money laundering investigation announced last week raises the question of what Zelensky knew about potential corruption in his inner circle.

Zelensky answered the same day, in a transcript of a two-hour meeting with reporters released Sunday: anti-corruption agencies, he said, have "zero questions" for him.

What Fedorov Said

"Let him answer this question... I believe that he's ready for such questions. It's his responsibility to tell us all whether he was aware of all that or not... I don't want to make any assumptions," Fedorov told the BBC.

He stopped short of accusing the president himself. Fedorov said he had no evidence Zelensky was personally corrupt, and that in all his time working with him, "not a single time have I received from him any task or assignment that would go against law or my sense of integrity."

Fedorov also renewed his call for elections, which have been suspended under the martial law Ukraine has lived under since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. He said it was his "moral right" to start the conversation.

"We should not be afraid of discussing it. That's what democracy is all about," he said. "If I cannot share my ideas and be open about them with my own society, then what are we fighting for?" If a vote were never held, he added, "then we are no longer a democracy."

Asked whether he backs Zelensky to win any election, Fedorov declined to answer. He denied immediate political ambitions but did not rule out running for president later.

What Zelensky Said

Zelensky used the briefing to lay out his side of the rift for the first time, and he was blunt about a wartime vote.

"I believe that in a war like this, elections as such are a huge risk," he said. "Elections right now are a tsunami for the country that will split Ukraine."

On Fedorov personally, he was warmer but critical. "I really had and still have a very positive attitude toward Mykhailo. We have been through a lot together. But I believe that he himself goes, or is pushed, into the wrong things," Zelensky said, according to the transcript reported by The Associated Press. He said he had offered Fedorov four different ways to stay in government, and that Fedorov turned down all four.

Zelensky also pushed back on protesters who targeted former army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and current Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Yevhen Khmara. "Maybe someone doesn't like Syrskyi for one reason or another. But the slogans 'Syrskyi is the devil, Khmara is the devil' — listen, this is too much," he said, noting it was the military that made peaceful protests in Kyiv possible in the first place.

A spokesman for the president had earlier told the BBC that Fedorov's framing was odd given his own long service: "Since the former minister was part of every government since 2019, it's strange that he phrases it as though these were somehow different governments without him. As everyone remembers, we didn't hear any strong statements from him back then."

The Trump And Musk Episode

Zelensky tied the fallout to an uncomfortable exchange with President Donald Trump over Starlink.

Earlier this year, Zelensky said, the Defense Ministry told him SpaceX had agreed to let Ukraine use Starlink over Russian territory for deep strike operations, subject to political approval. He raised it directly with Trump and told him Musk had confirmed the arrangement. Financing was discussed.

At a later meeting, Zelensky said, Trump told him Musk had rejected the idea and accused him of misleading the U.S. president. Musk considered it a dangerous escalation, according to Zelensky.

"He said that I had supposedly deceived him because Musk had denied Ukraine the use of Starlink on Russian territory. I went back to our Ministry of Defense and they said that maybe it was so," Zelensky said. He did not explicitly accuse Fedorov of lying, but said the episode was among the reasons behind "some of the steps."

Fedorov, for his part, confirmed he is visiting the United States in the coming weeks and hopes to meet Musk — to press him to extend Starlink into Russian airspace to assist Ukrainian strikes without the Kremlin gaining access.

The Numbers Behind It

Zelensky said the Defense Ministry faces a $27 billion budget shortfall after spending decisions earlier in the year pulled forward money meant for the second half of 2026.

He also disclosed a widening gap in air defense. Ukraine received 675 Patriot interceptor missiles in 2023, 364 in 2025, and expects 264 in 2026 — even as Russian ballistic strikes intensify. He said he wants 300 more for the coming winter; Ukraine's Air Force asked for 360. He said he hoped Ukraine could obtain even 5% or 10% of U.S. reserves and was able to pay for them.

Russia, Zelensky said, could eventually build up to 1,300 ballistic missiles a year, against an estimated current capacity of 600.

On the battlefield he was more upbeat, saying Ukrainian forces have almost entirely retaken the Dnipropetrovsk region, with only about 10 square kilometers and three small villages still outside Ukrainian control. He said Russia has occupied about 990 square kilometers since the start of the year while Ukraine has restored control over roughly 820.