President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has decided to dismiss Mykhailo Fedorov from his post as defense minister due to a long-standing conflict between him and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi. According to sources, this was one of the key factors behind the personnel decision.
It was reported by Ukrainian Pravda, citing sources within the Servant of the People parliamentary faction.
According to one of the lawmakers, during a meeting with the faction, the president found it difficult to explain his decision to dismiss one of his closest allies.
“It was clear that it was very difficult for the president to talk about this. For about ten minutes, he was literally searching for the right words and trying to explain his decision,” the source told the publication.
According to sources, Zelenskyy explained to the lawmakers that serious disagreements had arisen between Fedorov and Syrskyi regarding their approaches to managing the defense sector.
“They live in two different worlds. Misha wants to digitize everything and build a system centered on technology. The military, on the other hand, just wants to be heard,” one of the MPs quoted the President as saying.
According to Ukrainian Pravda, the disputes concerned, in particular, providing the army with the necessary weapons and funding priorities. As a result, according to sources, the parties effectively stopped finding common ground.
Sources also claim that the President emphasized the need to improve coordination between the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff.
“I cannot allow the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff to be at odds with each other in a country at war,” Zelenskyy reportedly told the lawmakers.
In addition, the head of state was dissatisfied with the pace of reforming the mobilization system. According to the publication, this is precisely why streamlining the process of manning the Armed Forces should become one of the priorities for the new leadership of the Defense Ministry.
As Ukrainian Pravda notes, the decision to dismiss Fedorov resulted not only from personnel disputes but also from a broader debate over approaches to managing the country’s defense during wartime.
As a reminder, Fedorov announced his resignation as defense minister. He outlined what his team had and had not managed to accomplish.
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