Ukraine’s former defence minister says he wants only his old post back

Ukraine’s former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov said he would not accept any new government role unless President Volodymyr Zelensky returned him to the defence ministry.

Fedorov said in a statement to reporters that only the defence minister’s post would give him the authority to fight procurement corruption, continue transforming the army, plan and carry out asymmetric operations, and address what he described as a culture of lies and lack of accountability in the system.

Organisers have urged fresh protests calling for Fedorov to be reinstated. Zelensky removed him last week after six months in the job, a decision that led to protests by thousands of young people across Ukraine and created a serious political crisis in Kyiv.

Fedorov, 35, was appointed in January with a mandate to modernise and digitise Ukraine’s military. He was removed after months of behind-the-scenes disputes with army commanders, who he said resisted his reform efforts.

After days of protests, Zelensky fired commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky earlier this week and replaced him with Mykhailo Drapaty, described in the report as an ally of Fedorov and a fellow reformer. Zelensky has appointed a new acting defence minister and has not offered Fedorov his former role.

Fedorov has worked with Zelensky since Zelensky became president in 2019. He gained support inside and outside the military for backing drone use early in the war. He has criticised what he sees as a Soviet-style approach in the army and insufficient concern for human losses. He has also tried to reform a military affected by corruption scandals, equipment shortages, absenteeism, treatment of conscripts and an unpopular mobilisation drive.

The report said hundreds of thousands of soldiers have been killed since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, in what it described as Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.