Former Ukrainian defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov has called for wartime elections, in what many see as the biggest challenge to Volodymyr Zelensky’s presidency since war broke out with Russia in February 2022.

“Democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia,” said Fedorov, 35, in a video posted to YouTube on Tuesday, adding that Ukraine is fighting “precisely because we want to remain a free European state”.

Since Russia’s invasion Ukraine has been under martial law, which means elections are suspended.

Fedorov, who did not mention Zelensky by name in the video, was unexpectedly fired from his role as defence minister in late July, just six months after his appointment.

Zelensky is yet to respond to the video from Fedorov, whose dismissal sparked protests across the country.

During his tenure as defence minister, Fedorov was credited with energising the ministry, heading a drive against corruption and using data to analyse and try to improve performance on the front line.

His dismissal is widely accepted to have been related to tensions between him and army commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi. Syrskyi was also replaced several weeks later, after weeks of protests piled pressure onto the Ukrainian president.

Fedorov gave no indication as to his own political plans in the YouTube video, instead focusing on the need for a “legal, safe, and realistic mechanism that will allow Ukraine to restore a full democratic process even amidst a prolonged war”.

He added that the country was facing a “systemic crisis of governance” and is “scared of change”, and pointed to corruption in Ukraine as one of the things hurting the country’s war effort.

Zelensky has since appointed Yevgeniy Khmara, a career intelligence official with a low political profile, as acting defence minister.

Other posts in Zelensky’s government were offered to Fedorov, including deputy prime minister for military innovation, but the 35-year-old has said he would only return as defence minister.