Dismissal of Ukraine’s defence minister highlights wider issues for Zelenskyy

Mykhailo Fedorov, pictured, butted heads with military chief of staff Oleksandr Syrski, who favoured a different strategy. Photograph: Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Mykhailo Fedorov, pictured, butted heads with military chief of staff Oleksandr Syrski, who favoured a different strategy. Photograph: Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images Analysis Dismissal of Ukraine’s defence minister highlights wider issues for Zelenskyy Peter Beaumont Senior international correspondent Mykhailo Fedorov, celebrated by many for innovative, tech-driven approach, was sidelined for military old guard The abrupt dismissal of Ukraine’s youthful and innovative defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, by Volodomyr Zelenskyy at precisely the moment Kyiv appeared to be gaining advantages in several spheres of its war with Russia has exposed, not for the first time, a troubling flaw in the president’s leadership. The move, which has startled senior European officials and caused consternation in Ukraine – where it has prompted demonstrations – is all the more shocking given Fedorov’s role in pushing a clear strategy to prosecute the war, leveraging Ukraine’s rapidly developing technological advances in drone and missile technology. Aged just 35 and appointed in January, Fedorov was feted by admirers for beginning to grasp multiple issues that have plagued Ukraine’s armed forces, streamlining military procurement and challenging systems prone to corruption, introducing competitive tendering, and seeking solutions to the army’s persistent manpower and training crisis. Fedorov was also seen as one of the key drivers of Ukraine’s highly effective drone programme, beginning during his time as minister of digital transformation. A former marketing executive close to Zelenskyy, who had never served in the army, he grated with senior officers thanks to his casual style, freewheeling speeches and insistence on a data-driven approach to reforming Kyiv’s war efforts. “We will take all the data and see what works,” he said after his appointment. “Everything that works well will proceed.” That included a killing-for-points scheme designed to reward the most effective army units, which some in the military dismissed. View image in fullscreen Crowds gathered in Kyiv to protest Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s decision to dismiss Mykhailo Fedorov after six months in post. Photograph: Danylo Antoniuk/AP In addition, Fedorov was credited with persuading Elon Musk to turn off unauthorised Russian Starlink access on the battlefield earlier this year, described by frontline troops as a significant advantage. Born in the year of Ukraine’s independence from Moscow, Fedorov is seen as part of a generation unencumbered by the experience of Soviet bureaucracy, in sharp contrast to his arch-rival, the country’s 60-year-old military chief of staff Oleksandr Syrski, a graduate of Moscow higher combined arms command school, who began his career as an artillery officer. With hindsight, the conf