Mass Protests In Ukraine Over Sacking Of Defence Minister Fedorov

Ukraine's popular Defence Minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, was dismissed after just six months, sparking widespread protests and dismay. Fedorov, a former entrepreneur, revolutionized Ukraine's war effort by pioneering drone warfare, overhauling corrupt procurement, and implementing deep and mid-strike capabilities that significantly blunted Russian aggression. His initiatives included boosting soldier pay and securing Starlink access blocks for Russia. However, his reforms and entrepreneurial approach created enemies among those benefiting from old procurement systems and traditional military figures, like General Syrskyi, who resisted his tech-focused vision. Critics view his sacking as a major setback, but Fedorov's "To be continued" message hints at a potential return.

The sacking of Ukraine’s Mykhailo Fedorov, the popular Minister of Defence appointed just six months ago, was telegraphed days in advance. The move still sent shockwaves through the country and has triggered mass protests.

Fedorov was a leader in the drone war long before he took the job. As Minister for Digital Transformation he showed far greater insight into the potential of drone warfare than his military colleagues, setting up the Army of Drones crowdfunding initiative to get drones to the front line, bypassing traditional procurement channels. As Defence Minister, though he may not take all the credit, he has overseen a sea-change in which Ukraine has finally blunter the Russian attack and started striking back with force.

To many Ukrainians, Fedorov’s departure looks like a major setback for the war effort.

Fedorov, 35, a former entrepreneur, took his dismissal with dignity, stating it had been an honor to serve and listing on X achievements by his team. Some of these wins have been widely celebrated, like getting Elon Musk’s SpaceX to block Starlink access to Russia, throwing their command and control into chaos.

Others, like overhauling the procurement system, received less attention. On arrival, Fedorov instituted a large-scale audit which reportedly uncovered billions of dollars of corrupt deals. Implementation was swift and ruthless.

“We said that let’s put everyone through a polygraph. Those who did not agree were immediately fired. Those who agreed and did poorly on the polygraph were fired. Those who passed normally remained working,” Fedorov told TSN television news.

Fedorov brough an entrepreneur’s flair to the defence ministry. With no money for essential equipment he juggled the budget in a way that would previously have been unthinkable.

“Took over a Ministry of Defense with zero budget, took a risk, reallocated funds from payroll from the end of the year, and effectively invested them in mid-strike capabilities, fiber-optic FPVs, low-cost reconnaissance, ground robotic platforms, interceptor drones, and deep-strike drones,” Fedorov noted in his departure message.

The results speak for themselves. Ukraine’s deep strike campaign against Russian oil facilities has triggered gasoline shortages and the start of an economic crisis. Meanwhile the middle-strike campaign against occupied Crimea has virtually cut off supplies and shut down the power grid in that region, weakening Russia’s grip.

On the battlefield Fedorov implemented Operation Auchan,a drone blitz which brought Russian offensive operations to a virtual standstill for six months.

Ukraine has a chronic issue with a lack of personnel, Federov boosted salaries, increasing the pay for frontline infantry from $2,500 to $7,000 a month and offering an amnesty rather than punishment for the hundreds of thousands of soldiers listed as AWOL. And he has put in place plans to recruit large numbers of foreigners with the goal of 50% of new recruits being non-Ukrainian.

In just six months, Fedorov has done amazing things. As commenter on X put it: “Can anyone deny the stark difference in outcomes for Ukraine in '26 vs. '25? Maybe Fedorov was just in the right place at the right time, but is replacing him a risk worth taking right now?”

But stirring thing up to this degree is always going to create enemies among those who preferred things as they were. Chief among these may be those who were benefiting from the previous procurement system.

“Fedorov had been a barrier to interests seeking to profit from Ukraine’s vast wartime defence budget… Fedorov repeatedly blocked attempts to steer lucrative procurement contracts to favored companies, which put him at odds with powerful figures inside Ukraine’s political and defence establishment, said people familiar with the situation,” according to a Financial Times." href="https://x.com/barratt_dewey/status/2077478706142928999" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">report in the Financial Times.

Fedorov also has enemies in the military establishment, traditionalists who do not approve of a 35-tear-old digital marketing entrepreneur trampling over the old order. Some generals compare him to Robert McNamara, the former Ford executive who ran the Pentagon during the Vietnam War, treating it like a business with monthly targets and paying more attention to statistics than expert advice. The difference though it that Fedorov has been effective.

One development which seems to be especially offensive is the ePoints system which rewards drone operators for kills by giving them more drones, turning the war into a real-life video game – though this has been highly successful at focusing strikes on specific targets as priorities change.

In particular, Fedorov has reportedly clashed with General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Syrskyi is definitely part of the old guard, having graduated as an officer in the days of the Soviet Union.

According to Ukrainska Pravda, Fedorov wanted to rebuild the military around technology and insisted on supplying the equipment that he believed was needed rather, than what the generals asked for.

“Drones or tanks?” is not a binary choice—but the challenge of reconciling these two may have been Fedorov’s downfall.

Response to the sacking has been outrage and dismay at a self-inflicted injury.

“The reforms implemented by Fedorov the last six months have been revolutionary in this war. His dismissal and the halting of his reforms will only weaken the Ukrainian military and help the Russian,” runs a typical reaction on X to the dismissal.

Others contrast Fedorov’s forward-looking digital approach with that of his replacement, Ihor Klymenko, former head of the National Police.

“What we need is a former high-ranking cop who boasts about making recruits tuck in their beds with perfect hospital corners and who happens to suit the generals and the major defense contractors just fine,” comments author Illia Ponomarenko sarcastically.

Pavlo Yelizarov, known as one of Ukraine’s, most effective drone commanders, has resigned in protest at the sacking, calling it “evil.”

There are already mass protests in Kyiv and other cities. The reaction has been compared to the backlash last year when the government attempted to take control of independent anti-corruption agencies and was forces to back off.

Fedorov has been a major contributor to the war effort, and he leaves an impressive legacy. But he may get another cabinet position or other role where he can carry on his work—or his old job back.

The last line of his farewell as Defence Minister is : “To be continued.”