Former Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov says his dismissal from government was driven by his efforts to reform the military’s procurement system, which he said faced strong opposition from officials within and around the Defence Ministry.
In an interview published by Ukrainska Pravda on Wednesday, Fedorov said changes to military procurement and tender processes were the main reason behind his removal during this month’s political and military reshuffle.
“The reason is connected with procurement, tenders, to the fact that we began overhauling the processes in this area,” Fedorov, 35, told Ukrainska Pravda.
“This caused significant dissatisfaction among many people, who then started constantly exerting influence and spreading negativity, not just around the president but across the broader media space.”
Fedorov, who served as defence minister for six months, said his first priority was to introduce a competitive tender system for military procurement.
“Our task was to fix the root of the problem as quickly as possible,” he said.
“First, launch tenders. Second, restructure the management system in the Defence Ministry, and choose the people working there differently, based on the goals we came in with.”
He added that he faced pressure throughout the reform process.
“I saw pressure from all sides as part of the process. That meant you needed simply to rebuild the foundation and the issue will be resolved.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy removed Fedorov from his cabinet and appointed Yevhenii Khmara, the former head of the SBU security service, as his replacement. The reshuffle also saw Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko leave office.
Fedorov’s supporters credited him with helping shift momentum on the battlefield through strikes on Russian infrastructure, and his dismissal triggered days of protests calling for his reinstatement.
Zelenskiy said Fedorov had been in conflict with Ukraine’s top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, who was also dismissed during the shake-up.
Fedorov said the president informed him of his dismissal less than an hour before a meeting of the ruling Servant of the People parliamentary faction.
He also denied having a personal dispute with Syrskyi.
“It was more of a conflict in terms of world view. We have a certain vision of the war that we came in with,” he said. “We, as the Defence Ministry, did not block any decisions of the General Staff or the Commander-in-Chief.”
Faridah Abdulkadiri
