Amid a sweeping government reshuffle in Ukraine, the country’s Defense Minister Mykhaylo Fedorov has lost his job despite recent military successes – sparking a public protest and discord within the armed forces.
The 35-year old Fedorov has been credited with an innovative approach to technology and recruitment but clashed with others in Ukraine’s defense establishment.
Fedorov championed Ukrainian start-up companies in developing a wide range of drones that have helped blunt Russian advances on the battlefield and inflict widespread damage on its energy infrastructure hundreds of miles inside Russia.
He was responsible for developing mid-range drones that have helped isolate Crimea, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.
Fedorov, previously Ukraine’s minister for digital transformation, had been in the job for just six months and was popular among troops for improving pay and frontline rotations. His successor will be Ukraine’s fifth defense minister since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
