Kateryna Lisunova
‼️UPD: According to Zelenskyy’s Office, the President is engaged in active discussions with Mykhailo Fedorov. At this point, his possible reinstatement as Minister of Defense has not yet been decided. Earlier, there were reports that Zelenskyy had offered Fedorov a newly created government position focused on innovation. However, Fedorov reportedly declined the proposal, arguing that appointing a new defense minister would cost Ukraine critical time. He said that getting a new minister up to speed on all the ministry’s processes and building an effective new team would take at least six months - time Ukraine may simply not have. At the same time, Ukrainian civil society has questioned the original rationale for Fedorov’s dismissal. It was explained as the result of a personal conflict with then - Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi. Now that Syrskyi has been dismissed, many argue that the conflict no longer exists. They also point out that General Mykhailo Drapatyi and Fedorov have an excellent working relationship. This Friday, the protests are expected to resume and become indefinite until the protesters’ demands are met. Only one demand now remains: to reinstate Mykhailo Fedorov as Minister of Defense so he can complete the technological reforms of the Ukrainian military that he began.
