President Volodymyr Zelensky moved to extinguish a political crisis on Thursday (local time) sparked by his dismissal of a reformist defence minister, tapping a security official who has overseen Ukraine's long-range strikes against Russia for the post.

Fedorov seen as a "barrier to interests seeking to profit from Ukraine’s vast wartime defense budget."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not nominate Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov for the post of defence minister, as part of the government reshuffle.