Ukrainians reacted with fury to the abrupt ouster of Mykhaylo Fedorov, the tech-minded defense minister whose embrace of drone warfare innovation for many signaled a break from old-school military thinking and shady business interests.
Hundreds of people rallied outside of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s offices in Kyiv on July 16, a day after Fedorov’s sacking was announced. The deputy commander of Ukraine's Air Force announced his resignation in protest, along with two well-known outside ministry advisers.
In his first public comments since his dismissal, Fedorov confirmed that a long-rumored clash with Ukraine’s top military commander, General Oleksandr Syrskiy, was the main cause for his ouster.
"We ran into a situation where all the initiatives we proposed began to be blocked. And Syrskiy, despite all the problems we've discussed today, was not prepared to openly discuss these problems face to face,” Fedorov told reporters.
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Ukrainians Rally Against Dismissal Of Popular Defense Minister
"Instead of figuring out how to defeat Russia asymmetrically -- which is the commander-in-chief's task -- he figured out how to divide the country we are all living in today. And that's a major problem,” he added.
Syrskiy, a veteran officer who was appointed Ukraine's top commander in 2024, showed no signs of any clash, thanking Fedorov for his work.
"I hope he remains part of the Ukrainian team," he added in comments posted on social media.
In a speech on July 16, Zelenskyy confirmed that Fedorov and Syrskiy had clashed on unspecified issues. He said he wanted Fedorov to remain in the administration in some capacity; Fedorov earlier said he had declined an offer to become a presidential adviser.
"During a war a president shouldn't have to make such a choice. I'd really prefer unity. But the parties didn't find it. And this is not only the problem of the parties, but also mine," he said.
He declined to say whom he would nominate to replace Fedorov; outgoing Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko is one of several names that have circulating in Ukrainian media and political circles over the previous day.
Serhiy Koretskiy, the chief executive of Naftogaz, the country’s largest state-owned oil and gas company, was approved by parliament on July 16 as the next prime minister.
Serhiy Marchenko retained his post as finance minister in the new cabinet, but the vote by lawmakers did not include new defense and foreign ministers, who are proposed by the president. The next parliamentary session is scheduled for August 18.
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Battlefield Woes Mounting, Ukraine Gets A New Top General. Who Is He?Fedorov’s ouster, just six months into his tenure, comes at a critical time.
Nearly 53 months into the all-out invasion, Ukraine’s forces have battled invading Russian troops to a near standstill -- in large part due to the wide embrace of drone warfare and lightning innovations in drone technology.
Drones have also played a key role in battering Russian supply lines to the occupied Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and choked Russian gasoline supplies by hitting refineries deep inside of Russia. That has buoyed many Ukrainians’ confidence that the Kremlin will be forced to negotiate a cease-fire.
Opposition Rips Into Zelenskyy
"What a nightmare it is to change the minister of defense of a warring country every six months,” Iryna Gerashchenko, a member of parliament from the European Solidarity party, said. “Tyranny, political jealousy, intolerance of alternate opinions, this is costing the country dearly."
Tapped to be defense minister in January, Fedorov made a name for himself heading a ministry in charge of digital innovation, which developed a now-popular app used by Ukrainians for public services.
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New Year. Old War. New Team. Who’s Who In Zelenskyy’s Personnel ShuffleHe replaced Denys Shmyhal, a stalwart minister who has held a rotating series of posts including energy minister. Like Fedorov, Shmyhal was at the defense ministry for only around six months.
Political scientist Volodymyr Fesenko called Fedorov’s dismissal a “serious mistake.”
"Fedorov was not the leader in this regard, but in the West and inside the country -- particularly among the elites, expert circles, and political circles -- he was perceived by part of Zelenskyy's team as a new rising star,” he told Current Time.
“Apparently, Fedorov's growing popularity caused a certain level of dissatisfaction within Zelenskyy's team and, it seems, also caused some irritation for Zelenskyy himself," Fesenko said.
Stanislav Aseyev, a journalist and former freelancer for RFE/RL who spent 28 months in Russian-captivity, suggested Zelenskyy had sided with corrupt elements in Ukraine’s military establishment: “those who advised the president to fire [Fedorov] so they could continue siphoning off billions from the Defense Ministry.”
"Of all the defense ministers we've had since the start of the full-scale invasion, he's the best. Yes, he's not perfect, but the processes he's started are very positive for the military,” Vyacheslav Bilkovsky, a former military officer who now serves in the administration for the southern Kherson region, wrote in a post to Facebook.
“’Invisible barriers’ for drone manufacturers disappeared almost immediately, and certification issues accelerated many times over. This wasn't even close to happening under [Rustem] Umerov,” Bilkovsky wrote, referring to an earlier defense minister.
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Ukraine Gets A Green Light To Build Its Own Patriot Missiles. It’s Not a Game Changer, Experts CautionColonel Pavlo Yelizarov, the deputy commander of the Air Force, announced his resignation in protest at Fedorov’s sacking, which he called “evil.” Yelizarov, who was appointed by Fedorov, helped a military unit known as Lasar's Group, become one of the most effective drone units.
Two other highly public Defense Ministry advisers -- Serhiy Beskrestnov, better known by his call sign "Flash" and Serhiy Sternenko, an activist and fund-raiser – also said they were quitting their positions.
Outside the presidential offices in central Kyiv, hundreds of people held signs and chanted in support of Fedorov while criticizing Zelenskyy.
"I don't remember anyone ever being removed like this so unjustifiably," one man participating in the protest told RFE/RL. “I mean, people are usually dismissed for poor results. This will make Russia happy.”