KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — One is a tech-savvy drone innovator with no military experience who became Ukraine’s youngest defense minister six months ago and was credited with contributing to successes in defending against Russia’s 4-year-old invasion.The other is a seasoned, Soviet-trained general more at home with traditional top-down command culture who led Ukraine’s armed forces.When their personalities and policies clashed, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy decided one of them had to go as part of a wider government reshuffle. He dismissed the popular young upstart, sparking protests across the country.A look at the contrasting careers of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and commander of Ukraine’s armed forces, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi.
The youthful face of Ukraine’s drone warThe 35-year-old Fedorov was credited with modernizing Ukraine’s drone program and changed military procurement rules in a crackdown on corruption. He argued that the military establishment was resisting changes demanded by the evolving war with Russia.The former tech entrepreneur drove forward Ukraine’s innovative drone technology that has recently reshaped the battlefield and has earned the interest of other countries, including the United States, as well as those in Europe and the Middle East.
