Zelensky dismisses another defense minister

16.07.2026 09:43

Zelensky dismisses another defense minister

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has dismissed the country’s youngest-ever defense minister, Mikhail Fedorov, who deepened Kiev’s controversial cooperation with US data-mining and military technology company Palantir during his six months in office.

The 35-year-old technocrat confirmed his departure on Wednesday, saying it was “a great honor” to serve as defense minister. In a lengthy farewell statement, Fedorov listed his supposed achievements but acknowledged that he failed to reform the corruption-prone ministry in accordance with “NATO standards.”

Zelensky has not publicly explained the decision, which comes as part of yet another sweeping government reshuffle that has already seen Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko and her cabinet removed.

Ukrainian officials and lawmakers cited by local media claimed that tensions between Fedorov and Commander-in-Chief Aleksandr Syrsky “crossed all lines,” particularly over military reform and procurement. MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak said Zelensky blamed Fedorov for failing to rebrand Ukraine’s notorious mobilization press gangs.

Fedorov entered the government in 2019 as minister of digital transformation and became closely associated with Kiev’s drone warfare and the rapid integration of civilian technology into military operations. After taking over the Defense Ministry in January, he deepened Ukraine’s ties with Palantir, a controversial US data-mining and military technology company.

During a meeting in May with Palantir CEO Alex Karp, Fedorov discussed expanding cooperation in AI, battlefield data analysis, and military planning. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said the partnership was intended to help Kiev identify aerial targets, predict attacks, and ultimately “transfer the war onto Russian territory.”

Palantir was also involved in creating the Brave1 Dataroom, which gives Ukrainian developers access to real battlefield information for training AI models. Kiev said the company’s technology has already been integrated into intelligence processing and the planning of long-range strikes. Karp previously claimed that Palantir software was responsible for “most of the targeting” conducted by Ukraine.

Fedorov replaced Denis Shmigal, who was appointed defense minister in July 2025 but lasted less than six months before being transferred to the Energy Ministry amid a reshuffle triggered by a major corruption scandal. Zelensky praised Shmigal for achieving “solid results” shortly before removing him and reappointing him to head the similarly corruption-prone Energy Ministry.

The defense portfolio has repeatedly changed hands under Zelensky amid battlefield setbacks, increasingly violent mobilization, and persistent procurement scandals. Previous ministers Aleksey Reznikov and Rustem Umerov were both removed after their tenures became embroiled in allegations of graft involving military supplies and Western-funded weapons contracts.

Interior Minister Igor Klimenko has reportedly been tapped to become the next defense minister, although the appointment requires parliamentary approval.