Defence Minister Fedorov may be dismissed over conflict with Syrskyi and procurement reforms – sources
Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov’s position has weakened significantly ahead of a major government reshuffle, with the Verkhovna Rada increasingly confident in discussing his possible replacement by incumbent Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.
This is stated in the article "Mercury retrograde for the Cabinet of Ministers: how suspicion against Stefanishyna changed Svyrydenko’s life and whether Fedorov will be dismissed" by Censor.NET journalist Tetiana Nikolaienko.
Will Fedorov be replaced?
During his six months in office, Fedorov radically dismantled corrupt patterns in weapons procurement.
He shifted drone funding to a system based on verified statistics of their successful combat strikes, while the Defence Procurement Agency (DPA), at his request, held an open tender for scarce 155 mm shells and announced restricted UAV procurement based on actual tactical and technical specifications rather than specific commercial brand names. This eliminated the main corruption risks but provoked fierce resistance from manufacturers. In addition, the minister launched the Ukraine–NATO Strategic Procurement Review.
Despite this, Fedorov has faced strong scepticism from the military because his military contract reform provides no clear answers regarding demobilisation, while the General Staff is openly irritated by the constant changes.
"I do not know why they are talking about replacing Fedorov with Klymenko. Perhaps they want to frighten the latter?" one MP suggested.
"But which of them are they actually trying to frighten—Fedorov or Klymenko? Because it is unclear who would be worse off," another replied.
"Yes, Klymenko is probably more compliant and will do what he is told," the second source suggested.
Disagreement in the Presidential Office and conflict with Syrskyi
Meanwhile, the Presidential Office has noted that Fedorov continues to retain his own team of political strategists, viewing him as a potential rival to Volodymyr Zelenskyy in future elections.
"But there is another truth as well. By dismissing Fedorov, the Presidential Office would be more likely to play into his hands because we would have a reformer stopped in mid-ascent. One might assume that, as in Kubrakov’s case, he would be forgotten after three months. But anyone who witnessed the beginning of Viktor Yushchenko’s political career knows that this can provide a strong launchpad for a political career.
"It has been written many times that replacing the defence minister every six months is a very bad idea. It is extremely difficult to launch changes in six months. Some of the consequences left behind by predecessors remain a burden because rewriting orders can take up to six months. And if even the General Staff—which, despite its statements, is indeed seriously at odds with Fedorov—is angry about another possible reshuffle, this is certainly a sign that nothing good comes from pauses to explain what technical specifications are and how the food catalogue works. However, the choice in this game appears to be driven not by logic but by surprise," Nikolaienko added.
- Read the full article here: "Mercury retrograde for the Cabinet of Ministers: how suspicion against Stefanishyna changed Svyrydenko’s life and whether Fedorov will be dismissed."
