President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he has not seen or heard from former defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov for a long time. The head of state only knows that the ex-official was abroad, but did not specify his current whereabouts or the purpose of the trip.
“There is a question about Mykhailo Fedorov. To be honest, I haven’t seen him, haven’t heard from him for a long time. I know that he was somewhere abroad. And, as they say: ‘doesn’t call, doesn’t write’,” — said Volodymyr Zelensky, answering journalists’ questions.
After being dismissed from the position of head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov agreed to become an adviser to Italy’s defense minister Guido Crosetto. His focus is expected to be defense innovations.
During his final press conference, Fedorov spoke about a conflict with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi. According to the ex-official, he proposed replacing Syrskyi and Chief of Staff Andrii Hnatov. Fedorov claimed that the commander-in-chief issued an ultimatum and “figured out how to split the country”.
The former minister also said that thanks to open tenders the Ministry of Defense saved about $100 million on purchases of artillery shells. He added that billions of dollars were saved when acquiring drones.
Mykhailo Fedorov’s resignation sparked rallies in Ukraine. In Mykolaiv, about 30 people took part in the action. Participants held cardboard signs with the inscriptions:
- “The jackals cheated again”;
- “Vova, there’s a question”;
- “You’re fighting in the wrong place”;
- “Darling, we’re killing innovation”.
Later, media reports appeared about a possible resignation of Oleksandr Syrskyi. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that these reports are not true. After rumors about replacing the commander-in-chief, commanders of the Defense Forces publicly expressed their support for him.
Earlier we wrote:
- Mykhailo Fedorov agreed to become an adviser to Italy’s defense minister
- Fedorov did not speak with Zelensky after the statement about the elections and called for answers regarding corruption
- Zelensky explained Fedorov’s dismissal by the need to prepare for a difficult winter
- Zaluzhny, Fedorov and Budanov outpaced Zelensky in terms of trust — poll
- 22 victories and three shortcomings: Fedorov reported and left the Ministry of Defense
