Fedorov out as Ukraine’s defense minister in major government shake-up

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Mykhailo Fedorov as the country’s minister of defense after just six months in office as part of a major shake-up in Kyiv’s leadership.

The move, which has been the subject of speculation, was confirmed when Fedorov published a farewell social media post on Wednesday.

It followed Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko’s resignation at the request of the president on Tuesday, which triggered the removal of and subsequent need to reappoint all the ministers currently serving in her cabinet.

“It has been a great honor to serve the Ukrainian people as Minister of Defense,” Fedorov wrote in the post . “Thank you to everyone who defends Ukraine and works for victory.”

Fedorov’s departure surprised many Ukrainians, who credited him with helping Ukraine secure recent victories.

Under his tenure, Fedorov secured dozens of drone deals with international partners and instituted military structure and budget reforms .

Supporters of Federov, including adviser Serhii Sternenko, argued the change could slow ongoing military efforts.

In his farewell message, Fedorov listed 22 accomplishments he said his team completed during his tenure, including restricting Russian access to Starlink, instituting draft and military pay reform, and launching the country’s antiballistics initiatives .

The outgoing minister also listed three goals he said remained unfinished, including transforming the ministry’s structure to NATO standards and “common sense,” completing the transition of procurements to tenders, and building a “culture of accountability for decisions.”

Sternenko, also said in a post on Wednesday that he was leaving his position at the Ministry of Defense.

“From now on, I am no longer an advisor to the Minister of Defense,” he wrote, “which undoubtedly reduces the opportunities to qualitatively help change the situation in the military with drones.”

Zelenskyy has not publicly explained the decision or named a successor.

The Economist reported that Fedorov, a 35-year-old with a tech background, was rumored to be in conflict with multiple factions within Ukraine’s military administration.

Others saw his initiatives as too progressive, according to Kyiv-based political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko in comments to Kyiv Independent .

“There is alleged friction in Fedorov’s relationship with [Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr] Syrskyi,” Fesenko said. “Not everyone is happy with Fedorov’s proposals for reforming the military, particularly his plans to overhaul the way the Defense Ministry operates.”

Ukraine’s Interior Minister, Ihor Klymenko, has reportedly been offered the job to replace Fedorov, according to the Kyiv Independent, which cited anonymous sources.

Despite leaving the ministry, Fedorov vowed to keep serving the country in other ways.

Katie Livingstone is the Ukraine correspondent for Defense News and Military Times. Based in Kyiv, she has covered Russia's full-scale invasion since its first days. She is a former Fulbright fellow whose award-winning work has appeared in outlets across Europe and the U.S.

乌克兰总统泽连斯基在米哈伊洛·费多罗夫上任仅六个月后便解除了他的国防部长职务，这是基辅领导层重大改组的一部分。

此前外界对此举已有诸多猜测，而费多罗夫周三在社交媒体上发布的告别帖证实了这一消息。

此前，总理尤利娅·斯维里登科于周二应总统要求辞职，这导致其内阁所有现任部长被撤职，随后需要重新任命。

费多罗夫在帖子中写道：“能够担任乌克兰国防部长，为乌克兰人民服务，我深感荣幸。感谢所有保卫乌克兰、为胜利而奋斗的人们。”

费多罗夫的离任令许多乌克兰人感到惊讶，他们认为他帮助乌克兰取得了最近的胜利。

在费多罗夫的领导下，他与国际伙伴达成了数十项无人机交易，并推行了军事结构和预算改革。

费多罗夫的支持者，包括顾问谢尔盖·斯特年科，认为这一变化可能会减缓正在进行的军事行动。

费多罗夫在告别致辞中列举了他在任期间团队完成的 22 项成就，包括限制俄罗斯对星链的访问、推行征兵和军饷改革以及启动该国的反弹道导弹计划。

即将卸任的部长还列出了三个他表示尚未完成的目标，包括将该部的结构改造为符合北约标准和“常识”的模式，完成采购向招标的过渡，以及建立“对决策负责的文化”。

斯特年科周三还在社交媒体上发帖表示，他将离开国防部的职位。

“从现在起，我不再担任国防部长的顾问，”他写道，“这无疑减少了我利用无人机从根本上改变军事形势的机会。”

泽连斯基尚未公开解释这一决定，也没有指定继任者。

《经济学人》报道称，35岁的费多罗夫拥有科技背景，据传他与乌克兰军方内部的多个派系存在冲突。

据基辅政治分析家弗拉基米尔·费先科在接受《基辅独立报》采访时表示，其他人则认为他的举措过于激进。

费先科说：“据称费多罗夫与（总司令奥列克桑德·）瑟尔斯基的关系存在摩擦。并非所有人都对费多罗夫的军队改革方案感到满意，尤其是他对国防部运作方式的全面改革计划。”

据《基辅独立报》援引匿名消息人士报道，乌克兰内政部长伊戈尔·克雷缅科已被提议接替费多罗夫担任总理一职。

尽管离开了内阁，费多罗夫仍誓言要以其他方式继续为国家服务。

凯蒂·利文斯通是《防务新闻》和《军事时报》的乌克兰特派记者。她常驻基辅，自俄罗斯全面入侵乌克兰之初便开始报道此事。她曾是富布赖特学者，其获奖作品发表于欧洲和美国的多家媒体。