‘I don’t want to be a populist — I want to be a realist’ Who is Ukraine’s new defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov?
On Wednesday, Ukraine’s parliament approved the appointment of Mykhailo Fedorov as the country’s new defense minister. One of the longest-serving members of the Ukrainian cabinet, Fedorov previously served as digital transformation minister for more than six years. He is perhaps best known for launching a widely used government services app and for helping secure Starlink satellite terminals for Ukrainian forces following Russia’s February 2022 invasion. Now, he’s stepping in to replace Denys Shmyhal as the leader of the Defense Ministry — making him the fourth person to take up this post during the full-scale war.
Mykhailo Fedorov is one of the longest-serving members of Ukraine’s current government. He became digital transformation minister — and a deputy prime minister — in 2019, shortly after Volodymyr Zelensky’s presidential victory and the formation of a new cabinet. At the time, Fedorov was 28 years old, making him the youngest minister in Ukraine’s history, according to Ekonomichna Pravda.
Before entering politics, Fedorov ran a digital marketing agency in Zaporizhzhia. He met Zelensky before the future president launched his campaign, when his agency worked on website development and online promotion for Zelensky’s production company, Kvartal 95. Fedorov later joined Zelensky’s campaign team and Servant of the People party.
After Zelensky won the election, Fedorov was appointed to the new government almost immediately. As digital transformation minister, he was tasked with delivering the concept of a “state in a smartphone” that Zelensky promoted in the earliest days of his presidency. The resulting Diia app was launched in February 2020. Initially, it offered digital driver’s licenses and vehicle registration documents. Today, Diia has more than 23 million users and provides over 20 services, including access to official documents, marriage registration, tax payments, donations to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and more.
Over time, Fedorov’s political influence grew. Journalists attribute much of his success to his ability to “propose ideas that appealed to the president and then deliver results quickly” — though not all initiatives were successful. Ekonomichna Pravda also notes that his growing influence had a downside: many projects became increasingly dependent on his personal involvement.
Under Fedorov, the Digital Transformation Ministry also worked to mediate between the state and Ukraine’s IT sector, and to build ties with the cybersecurity community. These efforts drew criticism, particularly after cyberattacks targeted Justice Ministry registries and systems belonging to the national railway company, Ukrainian Railways. According to Ekonomichna Pravda, Fedorov temporarily “distanced” himself from these issues. In 2025, he appointed Vitaliy Balashov — described by experts as a specialist with a strong reputation — as deputy minister overseeing cybersecurity and cloud technologies. Despite criticism and internal conflicts, Fedorov survived multiple government reshuffles and remained, as journalists put it, “the person responsible for digital solutions” in Zelensky’s orbit.
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After Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Fedorov established direct contact with SpaceX founder Elon Musk, Ekonomichna Pravda reports. That connection made it possible for Ukraine to quickly secure a large number of Starlink terminals, restoring communications in frontline areas and enabling Ukrainian forces to build command-and-control systems.
At the same time, the ministry worked to deploy backup data centers abroad, moving critical government data and services outside Ukraine. Joint projects involving the Digital Transformation Ministry, the Defense Ministry, and the State Special Communications Service soon followed. Over the past three years, journalists write, Fedorov has “almost entirely focused on the war.” According to Ekonomichna Pravda, he played a key role in decisions related to the Army+ app, which is formally a Defense Ministry project.
Zelensky nominated Fedorov for the post of defense minister in early January, as part of a promised “major reset” across the cabinet, law enforcement agencies, the Defense Ministry, and the Armed Forces.
On January 13, Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, approved Fedorov’s resignation as digital transformation minister, but initially fell short of the votes needed to appoint him as defense minister. The next day, lawmakers approved Fedorov’s appointment as minister of defense with 277 votes.
Addressing parliament on January 14, Fedorov promised to conduct a comprehensive audit of Ukraine’s territorial recruitment and social support centers — which function as military enlistment offices — to assess their effectiveness. He noted that two million Ukrainians are currently wanted for evading mobilization, and another 200,000 are listed as AWOL (absent without official leave).
“I don’t want to be a populist — I want to be a realist,” Fedorov told lawmakers, adding that the country needs to “do its homework on existing problems in order to move forward.” He described the Defense Ministry’s priorities as military reform, improving frontline infrastructure, and combating corruption. Sources cited by RBC Ukraine said Fedorov’s plans also include introducing IT-style performance metrics across all defense units.
