Zelensky pushes out Ukraine’s defense minister after six months
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov will leave his post, Verkhovna Rada deputies Olha Vasylevska-Smahliuk and Yaroslav Zheleznyak said. According to the deputies, Ihor Klymenko will be offered the position.
No official announcement has been made yet, but Fedorov effectively confirmed his departure on social media, writing: “It was a great honor to serve the Ukrainian people as defense minister.”
At a meeting with Servant of the People lawmakers, Ukraine’s president gave two reasons for firing Fedorov: he and Commander in Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi did not see the war the same way, and he was not coordinating state purchases with the General Staff, a source told RBC-Ukraine.
The Verkhovna Rada on July 14 accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. A new cabinet is expected to be announced on Thursday, July 16. Ukrainian media report that Naftohaz chief Serhiy Koretsky is the leading candidate for the prime minister’s post.
Mykhailo Fedorov was appointed defense minister in January 2026.
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