Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has warned that Ukraine risks gradually losing its war against Russia unless Kyiv makes urgent strategic and institutional changes, saying the country has only several months to take key decisions capable of shifting the trajectory of the conflict. “I think that there’s now a turning point which will determine our future trajectory,” Fedorov told Reuters in an interview published Tuesday, Aug. 25. “But it looks as though we’re gradually, slowly losing.”JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. His comments represent a sharp departure from Kyiv’s official wartime messaging and come amid an increasingly public dispute between Fedorov and President Volodymyr Zelensky following the former minister’s dismissal last month. Ukraine’s presidential office pushed back against Fedorov’s assessment, telling Reuters that he had spoken positively about the conduct of the war while serving as defense minister and that what had changed since then was his personal position. ‘5% effectiveness’ The former minister also directed unusually harsh criticism at the Ukrainian state apparatus, telling Reuters that entrenched corruption, patronage networks and political interference had prevented institutions from functioning effectively. He alleged the Ukrainian government was operating at only “5% effectiveness.” His criticism comes amid a widening political confrontation with Zelensky.