Mykhailo Fedorov, who was removed as defense minister, speaks to reporters on Thursday. Large protests erupted in several Ukrainian cities on Thursday morning against his firing.
ROMAN PILIPEY/AFP via Getty Images
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ROMAN PILIPEY/AFP via Getty Images
KYIV, Ukraine – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has fired the country’s popular defense minister, who pushed for innovation in the battlefield through the use of drones and turned the tables on Russia.
Mykhailo Fedorov, who served as Ukraine’s defense minister for six months, was dismissed as part of a government reshuffle.
Parliament has already approved Zelenskyy’s choice for prime minister, Serhii Koretskyi, former CEO of Naftogaz, the country’s largest oil and gas company. Lawmakers must also approve Fedorov’s replacement.
The defense minister’s dismissal came just hours after Ukraine signed deals with the European Union to boost drone production. Last week, President Trump agreed during NATO’s summit in Turkey to grant Ukraine the licence to produce missiles for the U.S.-made Patriot defense system to defend against Russia’s ballistic missiles.
Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, Fedorov said he was proud of what his team had accomplished in just six months. He said he had received supportive messages from other defense ministers as well as the leaders of tech giants, including Alex Karp of Palantir, who offered him a job that he turned down.
“I don’t need to be Minister of Defense just to be Minister of Defense,” he said. “I need this position so we can win this war.”
There was no immediate comment from Zelenskyy’s office.
Oleksandr Merezhko, a lawmaker with Zelenskyy’s party, told ReadNOW Zelenskyy fired Fedorov because the 35-year old minister clashed with old-school military generals and due to his controversial reforms on military conscription.
During Fedorov’s tenure as the defense minister, Ukraine saw a dramatic improvement of its position in the battlefield, including his push for innovative use of Ukraine’s cutting edge drones in warfare.
In recent weeks, Ukrainian drones have reached deep into Russia, including Moscow, hitting oil refineries. Drones have also struck supply routes for Russian troops in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, including the southern peninsula of Crimea.
Ukraine’s defense industry makes up at least 30 % of Ukraine’s GDP and defense tech is the fastest growing industry in the country.
Fedorov advocated for the use of mid-range drone strikes to disrupt Russia’s war logistics in Crimea and other parts of Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. He also persuaded Elon Musk to switch off Starlink internet terminals that were being used by the Russian military.
Fedorov, who previously led Ukraine’s digital transformation ministry, also introduced reforms to improve transparency in arms procurement.
“One of the faces of the modern and technological war it’s Mykhailo Fedorov. He totally changed the rules. He’s not afraid to take some risk or responsibility,” said Ihor Fedirko, who leads the Ukrainian Council of Defense Industry.
Zelenskyy is expected to nominate Ihor Klymenko, Ukraine’s current interior minister — a former police general with traditional ideas — to replace Fedorov. The Interior Ministry manages units in Ukraine’s National Guard.
In Moscow, the Kremlin played down the importance of Fedorov’s dismissal — despite his role in shaping Ukraine’s attack drone program against the Russian interior.
“It doesn’t make any difference who the defense minister is,” said spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. “What matters to us is that there is someone among the regime in Kyiv prepared to make the responsible decision: one that would allow a peaceful settlement.”
Peskov added that Moscow’s conditions to end the war — demands that include Ukraine voluntarily surrender more of its territory — were well known in Kyiv.
ReadNOW’s Charles Maynes contributed reporting from Moscow. Polina Lytvynova contributed to this story from Kyiv.