FEDOROV BREAKS HIS SILENCE ON WHAT HAPPENED INSIDE UKRAINE’S DEFENSE LEADERSHIP
For the first time since his removal, former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has publicly described what he says was happening behind the scenes inside Ukraine’s military leadership.
According to Fedorov, he initially accepted President Zelenskyy’s decision to keep Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi in his position and was prepared to work with him.
However, he says that changed when nearly every major reform initiative put forward by the Defense Ministry began encountering resistance
“When the president said he wasn’t planning to replace Syrskyi, I agreed with that decision. But we found ourselves in a situation where every initiative we proposed began to be blocked.”
Fedorov went on to accuse Syrskyi of refusing to openly address problems within the military, instead focusing on internal disputes.
“Instead of figuring out how to defeat Russia asymmetrically, he figured out how to split the country.”
He argued that if Ukraine wants to defeat Russia through innovation while minimizing casualties, changes at the top of the military command are necessary.
During the same briefing, Fedorov outlined 11 systemic problems he said he discovered after taking over the Defense Ministry, including bureaucratic obstruction, blocked reforms, fragmented command structures, inconsistent logistics, lack of accountability, and resistance to organizational change.
These are Fedorov’s own allegations, and Syrskyi has not publicly responded to the accusations as of now.
The briefing helps explain why Fedorov’s removal has triggered such an intense reaction across Ukraine.
What had previously been reported as possible disagreements has now become an open public dispute between Ukraine’s former Defense Minister and its top military commander.
