Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov made a sensational statement, directly linking the country's chances of victory to personnel changes at the top of the military command. According to him, a key factor for success could have been the appointment of a new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Chief of the General Staff.
A Proposal That Was Not Accepted
Fedorov revealed that right at the start of his tenure at the ministry, he voiced to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy the idea of changing the army's leadership. However, as the minister himself noted, he insisted that the final decision be made by the head of state, not by him personally.
"Who did I propose? I told the President that this choice must be made by him. It must be his decision, not mine. There is an analytics system, conclusions can be drawn, discussions can be held, and a Commander-in-Chief and Chief of the General Staff can be elected," RBC-Ukraine quotes Fedorov.
When Zelenskyy announced his intention to keep Oleksandr Syrskyi and Andriy Hnatov in their posts, Fedorov publicly supported this decision, calling it the sovereign right of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. "I fully agreed with this decision and said: Then I will learn to work with him, because after all, our client is the Ukrainian people, not someone else," the minister emphasized.
Blocking of Reforms and "Culture of Resistance"
However, according to Fedorov, after the personnel composition was approved, a systematic blocking of all his initiatives began. In six months of work at the ministry, it was impossible to create centers of competence, change the organizational structure, or implement new management approaches.
"Because the General Staff does not sign off on this, because it is not necessary to attract new people who are capable of generating ideas. We 'hacked' this with non-standard solutions, but in general, it does not work if we are talking about a serious system," Fedorov explained.
He gave an example: a warring country cannot transfer specialists to the Ministry of Defense due to bureaucratic barriers. "I did not create 'Skelya' and allow what is happening, I did not launch the media campaign. This is a culture that needs to be eradicated, because this is how we will not defeat the enemy," the minister stated.
Consequences and EU Reaction
Earlier, it became known that Zelenskyy offered Fedorov a new position, but he refused. Now, the European Union is demanding explanations from the President of Ukraine regarding the reasons for the dismissal of the head of the Ministry of Defense. This indicates that Fedorov's departure is perceived not only as an internal political step but also as an event with international consequences.
Fedorov's words about the need for changes in military leadership and his criticism of the current management system may become the subject of wide discussion within Ukraine and beyond. His departure highlights the depth of contradictions between civilian leadership and military command in the conditions of the ongoing war.
