Fedorov Dismissed From Defense Minister Title as Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet

Mykhailo Fedorov was dismissed as Ukraine’s defense minister on Wednesday, following the resignation of Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, a decision that came amid President Volodymyr Zelensky’s broader reshuffle of the Cabinet.

Members of parliament Olha Vasylevska-Smahliuk and Yaroslav Zhelezniak said Zelensky is expected to nominate Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko for the post, RBC-Ukraine reported. Sources within the ruling Servant of the People party told Ukrainska Pravda that Zelensky informed lawmakers of the decision during a closed-door meeting focused on the government reshuffle.

“He [Zelensky] said that ideally both Fedorov and [Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr] Syrsky should be dismissed, but he can’t do that right now,” one of the meeting participants told Ukrainska Pravda.

Conflict with military leadership cited as dismissal factor

According to sources from Ukrainska Pravda, Zelensky told the faction that Fedorov has an unresolved systemic conflict with Syrsky and army leadership.

The friction between them was framed as centering on Fedorov’s proposals to overhaul how the Defense Ministry operates, a tension reflecting differing approaches between a younger technocrat and more traditional military leadership.

Fedorov’s tenure at the ministry began in January 2026 and lasted only seven months.

Part of a wider cabinet overhaul

Most recently, Zelensky announced Svyrydenko would step down as prime minister, with Serhiy Koretskyi, the current head of Naftogaz, expected to take her place.

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Svyrydenko has been offered the position of Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, though as of Tuesday morning she had not yet accepted the new role, according to RBC-Ukraine. However, she had already submitted her resignation as prime minister.

Fedorov confirms departure, cites unfinished work

Fedorov confirmed his departure in a statement on Telegram, calling his time as defense minister “a great honor” while acknowledging goals he said remained incomplete.

He outlined a list of 22 initiatives his team pursued during his months in office, ranging from battlefield technology to procurement reform. According to him, his team cut off Russian access to Starlink, effectively reducing Moscow’s ability to run drone operations, and launched the “Logistics Lockdown” program to target enemy supply lines and advance the isolation of Crimea. 

Despite inheriting a ministry “without a budget,” Fedorov said his team redirected year-end funds into mid-strike systems, fiber-optic first-person-view drones (FPVs), as well as reconnaissance and interceptor drones, procuring more drones in four months than in the entirety of the previous year. 

He also pointed to reforms such as 70% advance payments through the Brave1 Market portal, the first competitive tenders for long-range artillery and drones that economized the government budget by billions of dollars.

However, he said he was unable to fully complete the ministry’s organizational transformation according to NATO standards, noting that while a new structure was launched and many personnel dismissed, personnel who obstructed change should have been removed more decisively. 

He added that he did not manage to move all procurement onto a fully competitive tender system, and that building a lasting culture of accountability remains unfinished – though he said he believes Ukraine’s people will ultimately shape that institutional culture.

“I will continue working toward the mission I came to the Ministry of Defense with in the first place – to defeat the enemy through asymmetry, speed of innovation, and strength of organization,” Fedorov said, adding that there’s “more to come.”