Zelensky's Shock Firing of Drone Chief Seen as Potential Win for Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s sacking of the country’s defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, has stirred up anger among those who saw the outgoing defense chief as a powerful innovator, but has also prompted concern that his absence will hand Russia an advantage on the battlefield at a crucial juncture in the long-running war with Moscow.
Zelensky dismissed Fedorov earlier this week, citing a high-profile feud between the drone-focused minister and General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Ukrainian military’s top soldier, known for his old-school mentality and Soviet-era training.
“I would very much like to see unity,” Zelensky said. “The parties have not been able to find it,” he added.
But the 35-year-old’s departure after just over half a year in the post triggered an outpouring of solidarity for the ousted minister, with several senior Ukrainian military officials publicly backing him as hundreds spilled out onto Kyiv’s streets in a rare major public demonstration against a government sacking.
Protesters brandished placards bearing messages including “Volodymyr, stop” and “Fedorov was not the problem.”
Fedorov was particularly popular among progressive Ukrainian groups, known for championing drone technology, for which Kyiv has become internationally renowned after serving as Ukraine’s digital transformation minister.
Ukraine’s cutting-edge drone tactics are being closely watched by other militaries across the world, and Ukraine approved exporting its defense equipment abroad earlier this year, paving the way for lucrative contracts that would support its economy and closer integration with NATO.
As Fedorov leaves, however, many Ukrainians are concerned that their country’s recent strong performance on the battlefield against Russia could grind to a halt, division in Kyiv delighting the Kremlin as Ukrainian soldiers lose their drone czar.
The deputy commander of Ukraine’s air force, Colonel Pavlo Yelizarov, said on Thursday that he was stepping down because he believed removing Fedorov was a “great blow to the country’s defense capability.”
In his own remarks, Fedorov said: “Why is it that now, when hopes have emerged and the initiative has been seized, this trajectory is breaking?”
Ukraine has doggedly attacked Russia’s oil sites, including facilities hundreds of miles away from Ukrainian soil, forcing dozens of Russian regions to declare fuel shortages and the Kremlin to import gasoline for the first time in years. Russia is the world’s third-largest oil exporter, reliant on the revenue to help fund its war effort in Ukraine, now nearly four-and-a-half years into the full-scale conflict.
Last month, even Russian President Vladimir Putin was forced to acknowledge the “unfortunate” fuel crisis.
Western analysts say Russia’s expected summer offensive has failed to clinch significant gains in eastern and southern Ukraine, with Moscow advancing far more slowly this June than in the same month in 2025. Syrskyi said last month Ukraine has recaptured more than 600 square kilometers of territory from Russia since the start of 2026.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops said they had deployed a gun-toting robot on a sea drone for a mission into Russian-controlled territory for the first time, while Zelensky said in April that Ukrainian troops had managed to retake territory from Russia using only robots, with no soldiers physically leading the attack.
“Replacing Mykhailo Fedorov now would only create unnecessary disruption at a time when Ukraine needs continuity, focus, and effective execution,” Viktoriia Yaremchuk, the chief executive of Ukrainian defense technology company Farsight Vision, told Newsweek.
Yaremchuk said Fedorov had achieved “tangible results” reforming the defense ministry, including in how the government buys equipment and technology for the Ukrainian military.
“A leadership change at this stage risks slowing or even derailing these efforts,” she said. “The priority today should not be to start over, but to see through the transformation that is already delivering results.”
Confirming his exit in a social media post on Thursday, Fedorov said he had achieved 22 objectives during his short time in office, including “radically” overhauling procurement, securing a contract to buy Swedish-made fighter jets and overseeing the “Drone Line” program, which helps supply drones to soldiers for coordinated attacks on Russian positions up to 15 kilometers back from the front line.
Mykhailo Drapatyi, a Ukrainian general who coordinates different branches of Ukraine’s armed forces, said in a message of support for Fedorov that the military had “gained a partner” in the Ukrainian defense ministry over the past six months, who had “also demanded a change in approach.”
He pointed specifically to the Drone Line initiative, saying the program was “one example of how a timely decision by the state can quite rapidly influence the situation on the battlefield.”
Fedorov said there were several initiatives he’d left incomplete, including restructuring the defense ministry “according to NATO standards and common sense” and building a “culture of responsibility for decisions made.”
Syrskyi, while often credited for defending the Ukrainian capital during Russian attacks in 2022 and masterminding the highly successful Ukrainian counteroffensive later that year, is also known for favoring more traditional tactics and incurring high casualty counts.
Fedorov accused Syrskyi of blocking new initiatives for the military and refusing to “talk openly about the problems” plaguing the Ukrainian military ranks. He said he had pushed Zelensky to replace Syrskyi, but the Ukrainian president had refused to sack the military chief.
Syrskyi said in a statement that he was grateful to Fedorov for his work throughout 2026 and hoped the former minister would “remain in the Ukrainian team.” He made no reference to Fedorov’s accusations.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Frances Mao and Sam Wilson.
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This story was originally published July 17, 2026 at 12:56 PM.