Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The now-former defense minister had some harsh words for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Following a dramatic political shake-up, President Volodymyr Zelensky named Major General Yevhenii Khmara as Ukraine’s acting defense minister.
The move followed the high-profile dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov. That firing triggered an unprecedented public battle within the wartime leadership.
Khmara takes over after leading the security services since January. In his evening address, Zelensky praised Khmara’s elite special forces background, calling his former unit the most effective at eliminating enemy troops on the battlefield.
The new minister must coordinate long-range operations to maintain control. He needs to prevent what Zelensky called “disgraceful incidents.”
Meanwhile, the sudden departure of his tech-focused predecessor has sent shockwaves across the country.
Enemy voices rejoice
Following Fedorov’s exit, Russian military commentators openly celebrated, with some even describing the political shake-up as a gift to Moscow.
They viewed the tech-savvy minister as a major threat because his focus on drones helped level the playing field against Russia’s larger army.
According to The Kyiv Post, one pro-war Russian commentator called the firing a gift to Moscow. Another welcomed the news, stating, “If they remove Fedorov from the Defense Ministry, I consider that a plus for us.”
They hope Ukraine will return to old bureaucratic delays.
Fury on the streets
Following his ousting from office, Fedorov, 35, publicly broke convention to confront military chief Oleksandr Syrsky.
Previous reports have suggested tensions between Fedorov and Syrsky, and according to Fedorov, Syrsky was unwilling to acknowledge internal problems within the Ukrainian armed forces and actively worked against initiatives coming from the Ministry of Defense.
Fedorov even said that Syrsky “has worked out how to split the country” instead of finding an asymmetric victory.
Syrsky offered brief thanks to Fedorov but ignored the allegations. Zelensky admitted the two men failed to find common ground.
Following the dismissal of Fedorov, protests erupted across Ukraine with thousands taking to the streets in several cities. The Kyiv Post estimated that up to 7,000 young protesters gathered in Kyiv alone, chanting Fedorov’s name.
One demonstrator told the BBC, “This is a decisive time for our country, and we need to show the president that we support our defense minister.”
