Ukraine updates: Ousted minister Fedorov calls for elections
Deutsche Welle · LC · trust 52/100
Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has called for wartime elections in Ukraine in the biggest challenge to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. DW has more.
https://p.dw.com/p/5J34K Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov called on Tuesday night for wartime elections Image: Mykhailo Fedorov/YouTube/AP Photo/picture alliance Advertisement Skip next section What you need to know What you need to know Former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov calls for wartime elections Popular 35-year-old says 'democracy must not be held hostage' Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies launch investigation into goup close to presidency Four civilians killed in attack on bus in Kherson Welcome to DW's coverage of Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine on Wednesday, 19 August, 2026:
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08/19/2026 August 19, 2026 Zelenskyy dismisses deputy head of presidential office amid corruption probe Mudra's dismissal came hours after Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies said they had launched an investigation into a group of senior officials [FILE: February 4, 2025] Image: Wiktor Dabkowski/ZUMA/picture alliance Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed a deputy head of the presidential office, Iryna Mudra.
The decree was published on the official website of the president of Ukraine on Wednesday, although no specific reason was given.
Mudra's dismissal came hours after Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies said they had launched an investigation into a group of senior officials, including an unnamed deputy head of the presidential office, suspected of money laundering.
The Kyiv Independent newspaper reported earlier on Wednesday that Mudra's home was among the premises searched by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU).
08/19/2026 August 19, 2026 Ukraine and Russia conduct prisoner swap Ukraine and Russia have exchanged 103 prisoners of war each, the Russian Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday, citing the Ministry of Defense in Moscow.
The two countries have traded thousands of captured soldiers at fairly regular intervals throughout the conflict, which is now into its fifth year.
With peace talks still not in sight, prisoner swaps are one of the only areas of cooperation between the two sides.
08/19/2026 August 19, 2026 Second Ukrainian arrested in connection with Nord Stream sabotage The Nord Stream pipelines were disabled by explosions in 2022 Image: Danish Defense Ministry/Xinhua/picture alliance A second suspect has been arrested in relation to the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions in 2022, German prosecutors said on Wednesday.
Croatian police, acting on a European arrest warrant, detained a Ukrainian national in Pula , prosecutors said.
They said that Vladimir Z., a trained scuba diver, "is strongly suspected of jointly causing explosions."
08/19/2026 August 19, 2026 Anti-graft bodies accuse group of laundering $3.35 million Ukrainian anti-corruption bodies said on Wednesday that the targets of a new investigation (see below) included a deputy head of the presidential office, a former lawmaker, and heads of the management and supervisory boards of a state-owned bank, among others.
The NABU and SAPO agencies said the group is suspected of having laundered 150 million hryvnias ($3.35 million; €2.89 million) used to pay for bail in an energy corruption scheme.
NABU said it was "conducting a special operation to expose a criminal organization led by a current and a former Ukrainian lawmaker and involving senior officials from the President's Office."
In accordance with Ukrainian law, the individuals were not named, but Vadym Stolar, a member of parliament, wrote on Facebook: "I inform you that NABU investigators are conducting their actions at my home. I am openly cooperating with representatives of the bureau. I am not creating any obstacles to the work of law enforcement officers."
08/19/2026 August 19, 2026 Drone causes fire in industrial area in Russian city of Ufa A drone reportedly caused a small fire after falling in an industrial complex in the Russian city of Ufa, local authorities said on Wednesday.
Radiy Khabirov, the head of the Russian republic of Bashkortostan in the south of the country, not far from Kazakhstan , added that another drone hit an apartment building and several cars, injuring at least one person.
Ufa is the tenth-most populous city in Russia (population: 1.4 million) and is an important oil refining hub.
Moscow claimed to have shot down 453 Ukrainian drones over Russia overnight.
08/19/2026 August 19, 2026 Kherson: Four civilians killed in drone attack on bus At least four civilians were killed and another four injured in a Russian drone attack on a bus in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Wednesday morning, according to local authorities.
"Russian military forces attacked a bus travelling down a street in Kherson with a drone," the local prosecutor's office said in a statement. "As a result of the attack, according to preliminary information, four civilian passengers were killed."
Regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin posted images online showing a small bus with shattered windows and a blood-stained floor.
The city of Kherson, the capital of the southern region of the same name, was occupied by Russian troops between March and November 2022 and remains close to the frontline. As such, it still regularly comes under attack.
Earlier this month, Ukraine accused Russia of carrying out "safari" attacks on civilians in Kherson after a remotely piloted FPV (first-person view) drone was used to chase a man on one of the city's streets.
08/19/2026 August 19, 2026 Anti-corruption agencies investigate top officials Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies announced on Wednesday that they had launched an investigation into members of parliament and government advisers close to President…
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