General Staff Blocked Changes to the Ministry of Defense's Structure — Fedorov
Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov stated that during his six months in office, he was unable to change the organizational structure of the Ministry of Defense because the General Staff did not approve the proposed changes.
According to him, the reasons cited for the refusal included, in particular, inconsistencies in the names or specific provisions of the structure. Fedorov also noted that because of this, the ministry was unable to recruit the necessary specialists.
Fedorov also stated that there are problems with the management culture within the system, which, in his opinion, need to be addressed. Separately, he denied allegations that he was allegedly involved in the creation of the “Skelya” unit or in the events surrounding it.
“Only five people have been transferred to the Ministry of Defense in all this time. Just imagine: a country at war, which is making decisions, cannot transfer people to the Ministry of Defense because of certain lobbying efforts. And then there are the constant lies—including the one about me, that I ordered the investigation into ‘Skelya.’ No, I did not create ‘Skelya’ or any other unit, nor did I allow what was happening there to take place,” he said.
According to Fedorov, a modern army must develop based on technology and strong leadership. He emphasized that the future of the Ukrainian armed forces lies in drones and units that will help reduce casualties among service members.
“A decree has now been signed to create rapid reaction forces. I hope this will form the basis for drone-assault units, where technology does the fighting, and we lose drones rather than people, after which the infantry moves in. Because we need to fight for every single person. We simply won’t be able to mobilize as many troops as the Russians do,” the defense minister said.
Fedorov made these remarks during a press conference, according to a Ukrinform correspondent.
As a reminder, Fedorov accused Syrsky of blocking the Ministry of Defense’s initiatives.
Zelenskyy offered Fedorov a new position following his resignation.
Fedorov stated that he had served Zelenskyy for seven years without any political ambitions.
