diff --git a/bindata/etcd/etcd-common-tools b/bindata/etcd/etcd-common-tools
index 5f381ff4c..ebff8bb56 100644
--- a/bindata/etcd/etcd-common-tools
+++ b/bindata/etcd/etcd-common-tools
@@ -20,3 +20,14 @@ function dl_etcdctl {
   podman rm "${etcdctr}"
   etcdctl version
 }
+
+# execute etcdctl command inside of running etcdctl container
+function exec_etcdctl {
+  local command="$@"
+  local container_id=$(sudo crictl ps --label io.kubernetes.container.name=etcdctl -o json | jq -r '.containers[0].id') || true
+  if [ -z "$container_id" ]; then
+    echo "etcdctl container is not running"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+  crictl exec -it $container_id /bin/sh -c "etcdctl $command"
+}
diff --git a/bindata/etcd/etcd-member-remove.sh b/bindata/etcd/etcd-member-remove.sh
index 687b75126..d831b9bda 100644
--- a/bindata/etcd/etcd-member-remove.sh
+++ b/bindata/etcd/etcd-member-remove.sh
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ function usage {
     exit 1
 }
 
-### main
 if [ "$1" == "" ]; then
     usage
 fi
@@ -28,15 +27,12 @@ NAME="$1"
 source /etc/kubernetes/static-pod-resources/etcd-certs/configmaps/etcd-scripts/etcd.env
 source /etc/kubernetes/static-pod-resources/etcd-certs/configmaps/etcd-scripts/etcd-common-tools
 
-# Download etcdctl binary
-dl_etcdctl
-
 # If the 1st field or the 3rd field of the member list exactly matches with the name, then get its ID. Note 3rd field has extra space to match.
-ID=$(etcdctl member list | awk -F,  "\$1 ~ /^${NAME}$/ || \$3 ~ /^\s${NAME}$/ { print \$1 }")
+ID=$(exec_etcdctl "member list" | awk -F,  "\$1 ~ /^${NAME}$/ || \$3 ~ /^\s${NAME}$/ { print \$1 }")
 if [ "$?" -ne 0 ] || [ -z "$ID" ]; then
     echo "could not find etcd member $NAME to remove."
     exit 1
 fi
 
 # Remove the member using ID
-etcdctl member remove $ID
+exec_etcdctl "member remove $ID"
diff --git a/pkg/operator/etcd_assets/bindata.go b/pkg/operator/etcd_assets/bindata.go
index 450d62822..41d7ae4f0 100644
--- a/pkg/operator/etcd_assets/bindata.go
+++ b/pkg/operator/etcd_assets/bindata.go
@@ -123,6 +123,17 @@ function dl_etcdctl {
   podman rm "${etcdctr}"
   etcdctl version
 }
+
+# execute etcdctl command inside of running etcdctl container
+function exec_etcdctl {
+  local command="$@"
+  local container_id=$(sudo crictl ps --label io.kubernetes.container.name=etcdctl -o json | jq -r '.containers[0].id') || true
+  if [ -z "$container_id" ]; then
+    echo "etcdctl container is not running"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+  crictl exec -it $container_id /bin/sh -c "etcdctl $command"
+}
 `)
 
 func etcdEtcdCommonToolsBytes() ([]byte, error) {
@@ -160,7 +171,6 @@ function usage {
     exit 1
 }
 
-### main
 if [ "$1" == "" ]; then
     usage
 fi
@@ -170,18 +180,15 @@ NAME="$1"
 source /etc/kubernetes/static-pod-resources/etcd-certs/configmaps/etcd-scripts/etcd.env
 source /etc/kubernetes/static-pod-resources/etcd-certs/configmaps/etcd-scripts/etcd-common-tools
 
-# Download etcdctl binary
-dl_etcdctl
-
 # If the 1st field or the 3rd field of the member list exactly matches with the name, then get its ID. Note 3rd field has extra space to match.
-ID=$(etcdctl member list | awk -F,  "\$1 ~ /^${NAME}$/ || \$3 ~ /^\s${NAME}$/ { print \$1 }")
+ID=$(exec_etcdctl "member list" | awk -F,  "\$1 ~ /^${NAME}$/ || \$3 ~ /^\s${NAME}$/ { print \$1 }")
 if [ "$?" -ne 0 ] || [ -z "$ID" ]; then
     echo "could not find etcd member $NAME to remove."
     exit 1
 fi
 
 # Remove the member using ID
-etcdctl member remove $ID
+exec_etcdctl "member remove $ID"
 `)
 
 func etcdEtcdMemberRemoveShBytes() ([]byte, error) {