Zelensky’s defence shake‑up backfires as ousted minister Fedorov denounces army chief and reveals 11 failings in Ukraine’s army

Sacked Ukrainian defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov has used a press conference to identify 11 problems facing Ukraine’s military. One of them, he said, was the constant misleading of the public.

On Thursday (16 July), Ukraine’s parliament approved a new government by a comfortable majority, to be led by executive Serhii Koretskyi. Koretskyi, who previously ran several energy companies, will replace Yulia Svyrydenko after around a year in office.

However, MPs did not vote on the position that interested Ukrainians most: that of defence minister, from which president Volodymyr Zelensky had dismissed Fedorov.

As the next parliamentary sitting will not take place until 18 August because of the summer recess, Ukraine will be without a defence minister for more than a month.

Zelensky said on Thursday that acting head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Yevhen Khmara, would temporarily perform the role.

Khmara has a reputation in Ukraine as a war hero who played a major part in the liberation of Snake Island in 2022.

Although even the president’s critics have welcomed his nomination, Kyiv remains focused on Fedorov’s departure. At a time when Ukraine is performing increasingly well on the battlefield, it has unexpectedly entered a political crisis.

“We have a president, not a tsar,” complained one of the demonstrators who took part in the Kyiv protest on 16 July. He told Ukrainska Pravda the public expects dialogue from the authorities and an explanation for dismissals. He therefore sees chaotic government reshuffles without explanation as a threat to stability both at the front and in the rear.

Ukrainians protested in several cities against the dismissal of the former minister, who had built a reputation as a successful reformer.

Fedorov speaks about his departure

Zelensky continues to face sharp criticism from prominent activists, commentators and civil-society representatives. For example, journalist Illia Ponomarenko described Fedorov’s dismissal as “one of the biggest mistakes of his life” and “the moment when he revealed his dark side”.

And so last Thursday, Fedorov himself spoke about his departure at a press conference lasting more than an hour. He spent much of it listing his achievements, including claiming that Russians had lost access to Starlink technology thanks to his talks with Elon Musk.

However, part of Fedorov’s briefing was rather dramatic: the outgoing defence minister spoke about problems in Ukraine’s military and his conflict with Oleksandr Syrsky, commander-in-chief of the armed forces.