Zelensky dismisses Defense Minister Fedorov after military leadership meeting, source says

Editor's Note: This is a developing story.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed Mykhailo Fedorov as defense minister, according to a Ukrainian official  familiar with the matter who spoke to the Kyiv Independent.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko has been offered to become Ukraine's next defense minister, a lawmaker from the governing Servant of the People party told the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity.

The lawmakers who spoke with the Kyiv Independent, both from the ruling party and opposition, disapproved of the change.

"It's bad news," a lawmaker from Zelensky's party told the Kyiv Independent. For Klymenko to take office, the parliament must support his nomination.

"I don't think it's right to replace the defense minister every six months. There are no fundamental complaints about Fedorov, and he should be allowed to finish the reforms he has already announced. Another change of defense minister — regardless of who replaces him — would simply create more chaos," political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko told the Kyiv Independent.

It remains unclear whether Fedorov will be appointed to another role within the Ukrainian government.

The decision follows a meeting between Zelensky, Fedorov, and Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, during which they were to discuss key challenges facing Ukraine's military, including mobilization.

Asked by journalists about Fedorov's possible dismissal, Zelensky declined to comment directly, saying only that he wants Ukraine's military to be "united" and "on the same page."

"The priority is dialogue between the army and the Defense Ministry, solving the problems of (recruitment), and closing the sky," he said, while confirming the meeting.

"There is alleged friction in Fedorov’s relationship with Syrskyi. Not everyone is happy with Fedorov's proposals for reforming the military, particularly his plans to overhaul the way the Defense Ministry operates," Fesenko said.

Fedorov’s unfinished reform

A relatively young and popular figure in the Ukrainian government, Fedorov previously served as minister of digital transformation from 2019 to 2026.

Fedorov's appointment as defense minister drew rare support from both Zelensky's party and the opposition. Some lawmakers from the opposition European Solidarity party previously described him as one of the few officials in Zelensky's team who maintained regular contact with the opposition.

Observers and military experts have praised Fedorov's efforts within the last six months.

Shortly after he began his tenure, he successfully persuaded SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to deny Russia usage of the highly effective Starlink satellite communications system in February 2026.

Musk had originally activated the system in response to a direct request from Fedorov in February 2022, and the two had maintained a congenial relationship in the years that followed.

Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, Rob Lee, described the Russian near-total loss of Starlink as "truly game changing" in comments to the Kyiv Independent in May, saying the loss was incredibly damaging to both Russian command and control and their ability to operate long-range strike drones.

More recently, Fedorov launched Ukraine's "logistics lockdown" campaign on May 27, a highly effective operation targeting Russian logistics vehicles with loitering munitions and medium-range drones.

Fedorov also launched a series of controversial military reforms in June, which received a mixed response from both serving members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, veterans' groups, and civil society.

His tenure was also marred by conflict with Ukraine's controversial Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi.

Yuriy Hudymenko, a prominent veteran and head of the Public Anti-Corruption Council at the Defense Ministry, told NV news outlet the two men approach problems from "fundamentally different perspectives" in an interview on June 17.

"This is a conflict between a young technocrat and a general from a largely post-Soviet military school," Hudymenko said.