Former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov turned down President Volodymyr Zelensky’s offer to become the “deputy prime minister for military innovations” on Thursday. In a written response shared with journalists, Fedorov thanked Zelensky for the offer but said he would only accept positions that would allow him to make a difference.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “I’m grateful to the president for all the options offered. However, today there are only three positions in the country that, alongside the troops on the battlefield, actually shape the course of the war: the President of Ukraine, the Minister of Defense, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” he wrote. “That is why I will not accept any position other than Minister of Defense,” he added. Fedorov said he and his team joined the defense ministry with the goal of boosting air defense and crippling Russia’s economy, saying he could not afford to “lose” the momentum. “At the invitation of President Volodymyr Zelensky in January 2026, our team joined the Ministry of Defense with a specific plan to end the war: defend the skies, hold the front line, and strike the enemy’s economy. We called this plan AIR–LAND–ECONOMY,” he wrote. “Over the past six months, we consistently executed this exact plan. For the first time in recent years, Ukraine began seizing the initiative. Our collective results created something unprecedented, a window of opportunity to force Russia into peace through strength. And we cannot afford to lose it,” he added.