The New York Times provided more insight on Wednesday’s dismissal of the popular Defense Minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, by President Zelensky. He was only 35 years old, and known to be “drone-centric” although it’s a bit more complicated than this.

“Col. Pavlo Yelizarov, a deputy commander of the air force, submitted his resignation in protest of Mr. Fedorov’s dismissal. “I believe the removal of Fedorov is a great blow to the country’s defense,” he wrote in a social media post.”

Ukraine has continues to run short of sufficient funds to fund its military on the ground, and the drone based attacks on Russia. And Fedorov pushed too hard for the later.

The Defense Minister Fedorov has, of course, a very different perspective and held a news conference to attack the decision leading to his dismissal. He fought against corruption in procurement of weapons and tried to minimize troop losses through drone technology. Fedorov accused General Syrskyi of thwarted the careers of promising junior commanders. So, a real split had developed.

Fedorov said the decision-making with Ukraine is all wrong. It was a very broad accusation. Certainly, the Generals would respond that experience is an important aspect in military strategy.

“Decisions about who should be supported and who should not, who should be reinforced and who should not, are not based on data,” he said. “They are based on loyalty” to the senior commanders.

The New York Times cited another reason for dismissing Fedorov, namely his popularity in Ukraine and ambition, made him potential threat to Zelensky’s presidency:

“Mr. Zelensky’s dismissal of Mr. Fedorov, 35, sidelined a potential political rival who had seized the spotlight.”

General Syrskyi at age 60, does not have the same ambitions.

Stay tuned,

Dave’

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