Ukraine’s defense minister stopped rubber-stamping the General Staff’s requests. Six months in, Zelensky sided with the generals.

Mykhailo Fedorov, who spent six months as Ukraine’s defense minister, will not be reappointed to the new government. His departure came amid a broader reshuffling of Ukraine’s cabinet. On July 14, the Verkhovna Rada accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Yulia Svyridenko, automatically dissolving the rest of the cabinet. Some ministers will retain their posts, Ukrainska Pravda reported — and the government’s resignation gave Zelensky the opening he needed to resolve the standoff with the “rebellious” Fedorov.

Before the Defense Ministry, Fedorov served as minister of digital transformation, where he built a “state in a smartphone” by launching Diia, a mobile app through which Ukrainians can access nearly any government service related to documents, benefits, loans, taxes, and much more. After Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Fedorov negotiated with businessman Elon Musk to supply Ukrainian forces with satellite communications via Starlink.

Now, according to Ukrainian media outlets, Ihor Klymenko — currently head of the Interior Ministry — is set to be offered the post of defense minister. Unconfirmed reports suggest Klymenko declined the nomination. If confirmed, he would become Ukraine’s fifth defense minister since the start of the full-scale war with Russia.

The central cause of the change at the Defense Ministry was a conflict between Fedorov and Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky. At a meeting with members of parliament from the Servant of the People party, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky cited two reasons for dismissing Fedorov, according to sources at RBC-Ukraine: a different vision of the war from Syrsky’s, and a failure to coordinate state procurement with the General Staff.

Lawmakers who spoke anonymously with Ukrainska Pravda said Zelensky found it “very difficult” to discuss Fedorov’s dismissal at the meeting with Servant of the People representatives. Until recently, the minister had been considered a close ally of the Ukrainian president.

Ukrainska Pravda reported that Fedorov’s reforms as defense minister had driven the conflict with Syrsky. From the moment he took over the ministry, sweeping personnel changes began: the ministry shifted to open tenders for procurement, introduced strict auditing of defense contracts, and stopped automatically approving requests from the Armed Forces General Staff.

One participant in the president’s meeting with lawmakers recounted Zelensky’s words as follows:

Zelensky named a second reason for Fedorov’s dismissal: the minister never carried out the promised mobilization reform. According to Ukrainska Pravda’s sources, Zelensky hopes Klymenko will be able to “bring order” to the system for replenishing the Armed Forces with personnel — especially important, he stressed at the meeting, given the possibility of a new wave of mobilization in Russia in September.

Fedorov, at a press conference with journalists, confirmed that he had a conflict with Syrsky. He said he had proposed dismissing the commander-in-chief and Armed Forces Chief of the General Staff Andriy Hnatov, “if we want to defeat the enemy asymmetrically, with minimal losses.” Zelensky refused to fire Syrsky, and the Defense Ministry subsequently faced resistance from the Armed Forces, Fedorov said.

“All the initiatives we propose have started being blocked, and Syrsky is not ready to openly discuss problems face to face. He is ready to personally attend meetings, weave intrigues, assume that someone has commissioned some kind of media campaign […]. This led to him effectively issuing an ultimatum […] Instead of figuring out how to defeat Russia asymmetrically — which is the commander-in-chief’s job — he figured out how to split the country,” he said.

How Ukraine, Russia, and the world reacted to Fedorov’s dismissal

Fedorov’s dismissal triggered protests across Ukraine. Demonstrations in his support broke out across the country. In Kyiv, crowds chanted “Bring back Fedorov!” “Shame!” and “Syrsky — resign!” The editorial team of the media project United24 suspended its publications, announcing that it was joining the protests against Fedorov’s dismissal.

Colonel Pavlo Yelizarov submitted his resignation as deputy commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, directly linking his decision to Fedorov’s removal and calling it “a great evil for the country’s defense potential.” Yelizarov had been appointed to his Air Force post by Fedorov in January 2026.

In the European Union, which recently allocated tens of billions of euros to fund Ukraine’s defense, EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said Fedorov’s dismissal would raise questions. He called the personnel decision unexpected and said he had worked closely with the minister, together accomplishing a great deal, including nearly daily deep strikes on regions of Russia.

Wall Street Journal journalist Yaroslav Trofimov described the situation surrounding Fedorov’s dismissal this way:

The Financial Times argued that Fedorov’s dismissal could undermine Ukraine’s defense capabilities. The paper called him “probably the most successful defense minister” of the war and “the architect of Ukraine’s drone revolution” — someone who commands respect among Western partners and is popular with young Ukrainians. The Financial Times suggested that Fedorov irritates the country’s “conservative leadership” (likely a reference to the military, Meduza notes) with his popularity and his efforts to introduce innovation.

Russian pro-war bloggers greeted the news with approval and enthusiasm, according to Ivan Filippov, author of the Telegram channel Na Zzzzzapadnom fronte bez peremen, a channel that tracks pro-war propaganda. In his roundup, the bloggers also acknowledged the achievements of the “energetic and creative technocrat” Fedorov, who “broke the usual schemes in defense procurement.” “The fact that Zelensky removed such a prolific and dangerous — for Russia — person from a leadership position is very good,” wrote the pro-war Telegram channel Osvedomitel.