Lies, chaos and "the man with a baton": Fedorov accused Syrskyi of dividing Ukraine

"People are being pushed under drones": Fedorov revealed what is really happening in the Ukrainian army

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16 Jul 2026

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Former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov publicly spoke out against the current military leadership, accusing the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, of blocking reforms, being unwilling to openly acknowledge problems, and trying to shift responsibility onto supposedly commissioned media campaigns.

Loud statements were made on 16 July 2026 during a briefing by Mykhailo Fedorov in Kyiv after announcing his resignation. The ex-minister confirmed that after arriving at the Ministry of Defense he proposed to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, to replace not only the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, but also the Chief of the General Staff, Andrii Hnatov. In Fedorov‘s view, without such personnel decisions it is impossible to achieve an asymmetric victory over the Russian aggressor and reduce Ukrainian military casualties.

At the same time, Mykhailo Fedorov acknowledged Oleksandr Syrskyi‘s merits during the defense of Kyiv and the Ukrainian army’s counteroffensive in Kharkiv region in 2022. According to him, after the president refused to replace the commander-in-chief he agreed to continue working together and did not issue an ultimatum on the principle of “either me or Syrskyi.” However, later, the ex-minister claims, the changes proposed by his team began to be blocked.

Separately, Fedorov linked the mobilization crisis to problems within the military. He emphasized that territorial recruitment centers report to the Ground Forces, while the military vertical reports to the Commander-in-Chief and the General Staff. Therefore, in his view, it is not enough for politicians to publicly criticize the TCCs without raising the issue of problematic assault units, the lack of transfers, the allocation of funds, and commanders’ responsibility.

During the briefing, Mykhailo Fedorov said that the current system offers potential servicemembers “lies, chaos and irresponsibility,” and that a new mobilization policy cannot be built without changes within the military and a new social contract.

“All the initiatives we propose have begun to be blocked. Syrskyi is not ready personally, to say to someone’s face, to openly talk about problems. He is ready to attend meetings, weave intrigues, think that someone commissioned some media campaign, instead of seeing the problem in his own actions. Instead of coming up with how to asymmetrically defeat Russia, he came up with how to split the country. My task is to show what we have done and to point out the risks that await us. I have been doing this 24/7 for four years. I do not want to look my children in the eye later because I did not speak about what is really happening.
Who do the TCCs report to? The Ground Forces. Who do the Ground Forces report to? The Commander-in-Chief. The General Staff oversees these matters and forms policies.
Young people are not discussing new contracts. They are discussing the former commander of the 155th brigade, who did the greatest evil that could be done during a full-scale war. They are discussing specific situations in assault units. It is impossible to solve the mobilization issue without a new social contract and without real changes in the military. Why is the 3rd Assault Corps the largest corps along the entire front line? Because processes are built, there is responsibility for the sector, and all brigades are gathered within the corps. 2000 foreigners want to be mobilized into “Khartia”. The root of the problem is in our product. And what are we selling? We are selling lies, chaos, irresponsibility: “Go-go, it’s not mined there.”
We need to radically change our product. There are a large number of people in the army who can do much more if given freedom and their leadership is supported. They will not flee the battlefield.
Syrskyi can hold the front because he is of a dictatorially authoritarian type — fake. Ukrainians stopped the Russians because they made a decision. They stood up and stopped them. Ukrainians do not need a person from above with a baton who will push them to the front line for 10–15 days under drones.
My message to MPs: are you satisfied that there is no real civilian control over the army? Propose something constructive. Without the podium: “TCC, TCC, TCC.” And where are your guts to say what the real problem is? About units, assaults, lack of transfers, allocation of money. Say who is effective and who is not. People die for freedom, and we sit on Bankova and Hrushevskoho and cannot say what we really believe in.”

Recalling the former commander of the 155th Separate Mechanized Brigade, Stanislav Luchanov, Mykhailo Fedorov effectively referred to the high-profile case of the abduction and murder of brothers Maksym Moseichuk and Roman Moseichuk in the Kyiv region. Law enforcement agencies suspect the ex-commander of organizing the crime, but his guilt must be established by a guilty verdict in court.

The ex-minister also cited as positive examples the organization of forces in the 3rd Army Corps and the National Guard corps “Khartia”. According to Fedorov, some 2000 foreigners are reportedly ready to join “Khartia”, since clear processes, responsibility and a management system have been built in that unit. This figure was stated by the ex-minister himself.

In Mykhailo Fedorov‘s view, Ukrainians are demotivated not by the need to defend the state itself, but by the lack of fair rules, defined service terms, possibilities for transfers, proper treatment by commanders and personal responsibility for failed decisions.

He also appealed to members of parliament, urging them not to limit themselves to political statements about TCCs, but to establish real civilian control over the army and openly name the commanders and units that work effectively or, conversely, create danger for servicemembers.

Before this, Mykhailo Fedorov and Oleksandr Syrskyi publicly denied the existence of a personal conflict, although they acknowledged disputes over the distribution of powers between the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff. After the government’s resignation, the confrontation came into the open public sphere for the first time.