July 21, 2026
photo: rada.gov.ua
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he offered Fedorov a “decent position in power”
Zelenskyy announced this in an evening address.
He noted that he met with former Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov today, July 21.
“I had a meeting with Mykhailo Fedorov today. I offered Mykhailo a worthy position in government that would allow him to unite the technological component of our state and ensure its development,” Zelensky said.
He further added that the security competence of Yevheniy Khmara, who has been appointed acting Minister of Defense, as well as his combat achievements, technological results, and Alpha’s deep strikes “speak for themselves and in the conditions of the system of government structures, this is necessary.”
Zelensky noted that all decisions will be formalized tomorrow, and from this situation “Ukraine should emerge stronger and it will be more difficult for Russia.”
As presidential advisor Dmytro Lytvyn reported, Fedorov has not yet agreed to Zelensky’s proposal; they will “continue negotiations.”
Meanwhile, Mykhailo Fedorov congratulated Major General Drapaty on his appointment as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the evening of July 21 on his Telegram channel.
“This is new air and new hope in the struggle of free people for freedom and justice. The voice of change that could not be ignored,” Fedorov noted.
He added that now the high expectations of Ukrainians must be justified by “a clear vision of ending the War of Independence, a strong command, and decisive actions aimed at preserving the lives of our soldiers, robotizing the front, launching asymmetric strikes, and exhausting the Russian economy.”
The former Minister of Defense also informed that he “called General Oleksandr Syrsky and thanked him for the defense of the Kyiv region, the Kharkiv operation, and other historic battles.”
He emphasized that this is an important part of Ukraine’s history, but “we need to move even faster and write new chapters, correcting all previous mistakes.”
- On the evening of July 21, Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Mykhailo Drapaty would become the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Syrskyi’s conflict with Fedorov: the minister’s resignation, protests, and the demand to replace the commander-in-chief
The origins of the conflict date back to July 14, when the Verkhovna Rada voted to dismiss the Svyrydenko government — amid tensions surrounding the possible dismissal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov due to his conflict with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky.
The very next day, July 15, Fedorov announced that he was leaving his post. According to The Economist , the reason was that Fedorov sought to remove Syrsky, and his audit revealed overspending in the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Ukraine by 300 billion UAH. His advisers, Serhiy Sternenko and Serhiy Beskrestnov (Flash), also resigned along with the minister. On the same day, it was revealed that Andriy Yermak met with Syrsky immediately after Fedorov’s dismissal.
The next day, July 16, Fedorov publicly told reporters that Syrsky had given him an ultimatum and blocked the ministry’s initiatives — while acknowledging that the commander-in-chief had “saved the country” during the defense of Kyiv in 2022. Syrsky avoided controversy in response, stating only that now it was necessary to focus on the war.
Fedorov’s statement provoked protests: on July 17, more than 10,000 people gathered in Kyiv to support him, and rallies spread to more than a dozen Ukrainian cities and Warsaw. The organizer of the protests, veteran Dmytro Koziatynsky, accused Syrsky of “engaging in politics instead of the front, demoralizing the army, sabotaging reforms,” and called for the commander-in-chief to be removed. Zelensky spoke with both of them that same day and promised a decision on the army on Monday, and according to the FT, it became known that the president is considering replacing Syrsky precisely against the backdrop of these protests.
Zel sent Zal to the U.K. to be ambassador.
Maybe Syrsky could do the same job in the U.S.?!
Or in russia.
Of course I understand you are joking Frankie Facts, but he’s done nothing bad enough to deserve hell!
His achievements as CIC are just as good or better than Zal.
He just couldn’t get along with the new kid on the block!