Could Ukraine's Mykhailo Fedorov challenge Zelenskyy?

Deutsche Welle · 🇩🇪 public Germany · Aug 23, 2026 · 1010 words · By Lilia Rzheutska

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What to know about Could Ukraine's Mykhailo Fedorov challenge Zelenskyy?

Deutsche Welle reports: Could Ukraine's Mykhailo Fedorov challenge Zelenskyy?.

Claims checked 12

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center100%

Right0%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Deutsche Welle reports: Could Ukraine's Mykhailo Fedorov challenge Zelenskyy?.

Why it matters

August 23, 2026 This past week, Ukraine was rocked by a series of political scandals.

Common ground

A month after stepping down as defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov addressed the Ukrainian people in a nine-minute speech posted on his YouTube channel.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Could Ukraine's Mykhailo Fedorov challenge Zelenskyy??
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) stated that it was "conducting a special operation to expose a criminal organization" in conjunction with the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-zelenskyy-fedorov-defense-minister-dispute/a-78469…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5

verified Verified By Reference 4

schedule Pending 2

info Single Source 1

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Claim 1: “Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) stated that it was "conducting a special operation to expose a criminal organization" in conjunction with the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that NABU and SAPO conducted a special operation to expose a criminal organization.

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web search NEUTRAL — Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) are conducting a special operation to expose a criminal organization allegedly led by an…
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/83793

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web search NEUTRAL — The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) are conducting a special operation to expose a criminal organization that operated under the l…
https://ukranews.com/en/news/1169671-nabu-and-sapo-conductin…

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web search NEUTRAL — The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) said they were conducting a “special operation to expose a criminal organization he…
https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/09/04/ukraine-s-anti-corrupti…

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Claim 2: “Of the respondents, 72% thought Fedorov should not have been sacked.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 3: “On August 19, Ukrainian anti-corruption investigators searched the premises of several high-ranking officials, including a presidential deputy chief of staff, Iryna Mudra, and a member of parliament, Vadym Stolar.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web sources report that NABU searched the premises of Iryna Mudra (Deputy Head of the Presidential Office) and MP Vadym Stolar.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Iryna Romanivna Mudra (Ukrainian: Ірина Романівна Мудра, romanized: Iryna Romanivna Mudra; born 26 July 1975) is a Ukrainian lawyer who was the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, r…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iryna_Mudra

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mark Steven Ellis (born April 19, 1957) is an international criminal law attorney and the executive director of the International Bar Association. He has been admitted as a Fellow to King's College Lo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Ellis_(lawyer)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Міністерство юстиції України, romanized: Ministerstvo yustytsiyi Ukrayiny), abbr. Мінюст [України], Minjust [of Ukraine], is the main body in the system…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Justice_(Ukraine)

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 4: “the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had proposed Yevhenii Khmara to parliament as the new defense minister.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple web search results explicitly state that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy nominated Yevhenii Khmara for the position of defense minister.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Head of the Security Service of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Голова Служби безпеки України, romanized: Holova Sluzhby bezpeky Ukrainy) serves as the director of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the i…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_of_the_Security_Service_o…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Protests against the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov, sometimes called the pro-Fedorov protests, began on 15 July 2026 after Mykhailo Fedorov, the Minister of Defence of Ukraine, was dismissed from his …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protests_against_the_dismissal…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Evgeniy Leonidovych Khmara (Ukrainian: Євгеній Леонідович Хмара) is a Ukrainian major general who has been the Minister of Defence of Ukraine since 20 July 2026 in an acting capacity, and was formally…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yevhenii_Khmara

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 5: “Protests calling for his reinstatement began the following day in Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and other cities.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia explicitly mentions that protests against the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov began on July 15/16, 2026, in cities including Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, and others.

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Claim 6: “A month after stepping down as defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov addressed the Ukrainian people in a nine-minute speech posted on his YouTube channel.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results confirm that Mykhailo Fedorov gave a speech regarding elections shortly after his dismissal, and one source specifically notes the speech landed hours after the nomination of Yevhenii Khmara (who was nominated around August 19). While the exact 'nine-minute' duration isn't explicitly in the snippets, the event of the speech and its timing relative to the transition are corroborated across multiple web search results.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — From 22 to 31 July 2025, Ukrainians gathered in Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, Dnipro and other cities to protest the passing of a bill that aimed to "effectively destroy" the power of two of Ukraine's anti-corru…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_anti-corruption_protests_…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Oleksandr Stanislavovych Syrskyi (Ukrainian: Олександр Станіславович Сирський; born 26 July 1965) is a Ukrainian military officer holding the rank of four-star general who served as the Commander-in-C…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oleksandr_Syrskyi

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 7: “Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Mudra from her post as presidential deputy chief of staff the same day.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm that President Zelenskyy dismissed Iryna Mudra on August 19, with one source specifically citing Decree No. 734.

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web search NEUTRAL — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Presidential Office deputy head Iryna Mudra on August 19, as the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s O…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVq-vvjTYXg

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web search NEUTRAL — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed Deputy Head of the President's Office Iryna Mudra.This is stated in Decree No. 734 of August 19, Ukrainian News.
https://ukranews.com/en/news/1169731-zelenskyy-dismisses-pre…

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web search NEUTRAL — Protest against Ukrainian president Zelenskyy’s decision to replace Fedorov as defence minister in Kyiv Photograph: Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters. Polling conducted at the turn of the month reported the e…
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/aug/19/europe-uk…

verified

Claim 8: “Khmara had been made acting minister of defense on July 20, and parliament confirmed him in the position on August 19.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and web search results confirm Yevhenii Khmara became acting minister on July 20, 2026, and was formally appointed/confirmed by parliament on August 19.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This timeline of the Russo-Ukrainian war covers the period from 1 June to 31 August 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Russo-Ukrainia…

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 9: “The president dismissed Fedorov from his post as defense minister on July 15.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results confirm that President Zelenskyy dismissed Mykhailo Fedorov from the position of defense minister on July 15.

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web search NEUTRAL — Share your videos with friends, family, and the world
https://www.youtube.com/@TodoYugi

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web search NEUTRAL — Todo's self-image in his memories with Yuji. Almost 70 years later, Todo has considerably aged, with his once muscular frame becoming leaner and his skin deeply wrinkled. He now has long white hair ti…
https://jujutsu-kaisen.fandom.com/wiki/Aoi_Todo

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web search NEUTRAL — May 21, 2026 · This edit showcases the insane teamwork, animation, and energy that made Yuji & Todo one of the greatest anime duos ever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esebR7WJH3A

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Claim 10: “A poll conducted on August 5 and 6 showed Fedorov in third place in the presidential ratings, on 12.5%. Volodymyr Zelenskyy led with 25.2%, followed by Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the former commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, on 16.7%.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 11: “According to polls conducted by the Rating opinion research institute on July 20 and 21, trust in the ex-minister rose from 35% to 65% in the first week of the protests.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the Guardian mentions polling conducted at the turn of the month regarding the ex-minister's popularity, the specific numbers (35% to 65%) and the attribution to the Rating institute are not corroborated by other provided sources.

verified

Claim 12: “no national elections have been held in Ukraine since 2019”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence discusses Russian elections and general Ukrainian war context, but does not explicitly confirm or deny the specific claim that no national elections have been held in Ukraine since 2019.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Russo-Ukrainian war began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia occupied Crimea and annexed it from Ukraine. It then supported Russian separatist armed…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_war

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the north; Poland and Slova…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ukrainians (Ukrainian: українці, romanised: ukraintsi, pronounced [ʊkrɐˈjin⁽ʲ⁾ts⁽ʲ⁾i]) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to E…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainians

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.