Syrsky explained the reasons for the disagreements with Fedorov

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi stated that he had disagreements with former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov regarding the financing of the army and weapons procurement. According to him, some of the procurements did not meet the military’s needs as determined by the General Staff.

“There were disagreements regarding the funding of the army’s needs and, accordingly, the procurement of the weapons and ammunition required by the Armed Forces,” Syrskyi noted.

According to the Commander-in-Chief, the General Staff determines the Ukrainian military’s needs for weapons and ammunition based on requests received from military units.

Procurement and funding plans are formulated based on these requests. In doing so, the characteristics of the weapons and their effectiveness are taken into account to ensure that the supplies meet the army’s actual needs.

Oleksandr Syrskyi asserts that the disagreements arose due to differing approaches to the procurement of certain types of weapons. According to him, Mykhailo Fedorov favored certain types of drones; however, the Commander-in-Chief believes these decisions did not fully take into account the needs identified by the General Staff.

“As a result, a significant imbalance arose between procurement and demand, as well as troop supply. This primarily concerned ground-based robotic platforms,” Syrskyi explained.

Thus, Syrskyi attributed the disagreements not to a personal conflict but to issues regarding the supply of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the setting of procurement priorities, and the allocation of funds for armaments.

Syrskyi spoke about this in an interview with BBC Ukraine, responding to questions about the reasons for his dismissal and the conflict with Fedorov, who at the time headed the Ministry of Defense.

Political analyst Yevhen Magda stated that the “Closed Sky” system promised by former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov did not deliver the stated results. This refers to the promise to intercept up to 95% of missiles and drones.

Russia’s Investigative Committee announced that it had issued a so-called international arrest warrant for former Ukrainian Defense Ministers Mykhailo Fedorov and Oleksiy Reznikov. Russian law enforcement agencies have charged the Ukrainian officials in absentia with alleged involvement in crimes against the civilian population in Donbas.