KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shook up his wartime government, drawing thousands into the streets Thursday across Ukraine to protest the ouster of his youthful defense minister — seen as an innovator of the country’s successful drone technology but who clashed with the traditional military establishment.
The personnel overhaul, which included replacing his prime minister, could become a test of Zelenskyy’s political authority as Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion approaches 4½ years. Zelenskyy has remained in office under martial law because wartime elections are prohibited but has periodically reshuffled his government.
The moves threw Ukraine’s military leadership into an unwelcome crisis at a time when its actions against Russia are starting to bear fruit and as Moscow has unleashed unrelenting aerial attacks. Two people were killed and five others were wounded, including a child, when Russian missiles hit the capital of Kyiv overnight, Ukraine’s Emergency Service said.
In making the changes, Zelenskyy cited friction between outgoing Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Ukraine’s armed forces.
“I’m just showing that if the sides can’t resolve an issue, I will have to resolve it,” Zelenskyy said at a news conference.
The outgoing defense chief was seen as a modernizer
Fedorov, 35, is considered to be a vigorous modernizer whose technological expertise is credited in part with significantly improving Ukraine’s military performance in recent months against Russia’s bigger army. He is leaving the government after only six months in the post.
Fedorov appeared at a news conference in a dark T-shirt and jeans, and accused Syrskyi of blocking reforms needed because “the war has changed completely” due to new technology like drones.
During his time in office, he secured restrictions on Russian forces’ access to the Starlink satellite communications system, allowing Ukraine to better leverage its midrange strike capabilities giving Kyiv significant battlefield advantages.
Fedorov said he was willing to work with Syrskyi, “but we encountered a situation in which all the initiatives we proposed began to be blocked.”
“Under this arrangement (with Syrskyi as commander), I personally do not know how the war can be won,” he said.
On social media, Fedorov highlighted what he called his major achievements: redirecting funds earmarked for salaries into midrange strike capabilities, fiber-optic drones, reconnaissance systems and other technologies. He pointed to expanded drone procurement, Patriot missile defense contracts, successful ballistic missile tests and sweeping changes to military procurement.
But he acknowledged he was unable to complete the Defense Ministry’s organizational transformation “according to NATO standards and common sense,” and move all procurement to competitive tenders, and build a culture of accountability.
Syrskyi didn’t appear in public but in a Facebook post thanked Fedorov and said he hoped he would continue to serve Ukraine. “I wish him to continue to remain in the Ukrainian team,” Syrskyi said without elaborating.
Zelenskyy said he had asked Maj. Gen. Yevhen Khmara to perform the defense minister’s duties in the meantime, according to a post on the Telegram messaging app. Since January, Khmara has been acting head of the state’s security service, known as the SBU. He had previously led the SBU’s elite Alpha special forces unit.
Zelenskyy described a difficult relationship between the Defense Ministry and the military at multiple levels, not simply a matter of personalities, and he said both sides share responsibility for the consequences.
“Together we win, and together we’re responsible for the things that cause confusion and public reaction,” he said, standing beside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was making his final foreign visit before leaving office next week.
