Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukraine's ousted defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov was just six months in the role before his ambitious drive to reform the military led to unreconciliable clashes with the country's top brass.
Issued on: 16/07/2026 - 16:14
3 min Reading time
He increasingly battled with a top command he cast as out of date, not flexible and bogged down with bureaucracy.His dismissal triggered rare protests in Kyiv and other cities, and in the chaos it was unclear whether he, or his opponent commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky, would gain the upper hand in the political dogfight.Famed as a digital disruptor, Fedorov was tasked with modernising the army, fatigued after more than four years of fighting back against Russia's full-scale invasion.He boosted salaries, announced plans for partial demobilisation and introduced game-like rewards systems for units that kill the most Russian soldiers.But conflicts with the more traditional guard plagued his tenure.At a press conference he convened in Kyiv on Thursday, standing in front of a large screen showing images of drones, in a trademark dark T-shirt, Fedorov defended his legacy, and hit out at army chief Syrsky."All the initiatives we were proposing started to be blocked, and Syrsky... is not ready to look you in the eye and openly talk about those problems," he said."The war has completely changed... We can't keep going on what worked back then."'Unity'Syrsky, Fedorov contended, forced Zelensky to choose between them. Asked about the row, Zelensky acknowledged the two sides were barely on speaking terms, saying he had made the change for the sake of "unity".From the outset, Fedorov -- who never served in the army -- clashed with the military's command and their traditionally stiff approach.He held lengthy TED Talk-style briefings, dressed casually and engaged with journalists, trying to inject energy into Ukraine's war machine, four years into the Russian invasion.
