A highly-popular tech evangelist who pushed for reforms, Fedorov was dismissed in July in a divisive reshuffle that triggered unprecedented protests in his support.Riding on a wave of popularity, Fedorov on Tuesday gave an address in which he slammed the government, sealing his dramatic break with Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky.As parliament approved his successor, a few dozen people gathered in a last-ditch effort to voice discontent with Fedorov's dismissal. But they distanced themselves from his political manoeuvres."I watched and it disappointed me," Yevgeniia, one of the protesters, said about Fedorov's address.
Protesters distanced themselves from calls to hold elections © Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP
"What was good about Fedorov was that he was a manager, not a politician. And now he's gone from being a manager to being a politician," she told AFP.With the address, Fedorov cast himself as a political contender and challenged the consensus against holding elections during the war, a risky move in a country where trust in politicians is low but Zelensky's legitimacy as a wartime leader is largely unquestioned.The address, filmed a month after his dismissal, ended speculations on Fedorov's future and ruled out his potential cooperation with the government.The video, set to pulsing music, delivering a scathing critique of the system that he once tried to reform.'Bid for opposition leader'Ukraine has been rocked with many corruption scandals, the latest of which saw a presidential aide fired on Wednesday.Eradicating corruption "is a matter of our capability to survive," Fedorov said, adding "we have a systemic crisis of governance."Fedorov had been a longtime Zelensky ally, having worked with the president since he took office in 2019.For expert Volodymyr Fesenko, the video marked a clear departure from this alliance.
