Zelensky Fires Defense Minister Fedorov After 4-Year Wartime Unity Fractures
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 16
Zelensky Fires Defense Minister Fedorov After 4-Year Wartime Unity Fractures
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 16
Summary
Wednesday’s dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov burst into public view after weeks of internal conflict over Ukraine’s war strategy, ending a period when Kyiv had appeared to regain momentum.
Thursday, Fedorov gathered reporters and opposition politicians in an underground parking garage and delivered one of the war’s sharpest public attacks on strategy, defense-contracting corruption and military command.
The clash exposed a rare open breach between the defense minister and Ukraine’s top general, undermining a 4-year image of political-military unity against Russia.
The rupture comes after Ukrainians had increasingly talked of a turning point in the war, following battlefield and diplomatic gains after a winter of heavy Russian bombardment.