Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov stopped rubber-stamping the General Staff’s requests. Six months in, Zelensky sided with the generals.

Ukraine's Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who served just six months, will not continue in the government after his cabinet's resignation. Per Meduza, the ouster resolved a power struggle between Fedorov—a tech reformer who introduced competitive bidding for weapons contracts and curbed automatic military spending approvals—and Oleksandr Syrsky, the military's commander in chief. President Zelensky determined their visions of war were incompatible and could not let the Defense Ministry and General Staff fight each other in a country already at war. Fedorov had previously built Ukraine's popular Diia mobile app and negotiated Starlink access for Ukrainian forces. His dismissal sparked immediate protests in Kyiv and concern from Western allies about losing a tech-minded minister who commands respect among donors and the public.

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton