Minister of Digital Transformation Fedorov has been removed from drone procurement. Drones will now be managed by the head of the Presidential Office, Yermak, while funds will be allocated by an official who previously oversaw finances under Reznikov.
Mykhailo Fedorov’s team has been excluded from managing the State Service of Special Communications. While formal oversight of the United24 fund remains intact, the fund’s revenue sources have effectively been cut off.
The government has appointed military general Oleksandr Potii as head of the State Service of Special Communications. However, the allocation of resources will be concentrated in the hands of his first deputy, Rostyslav Zamlynskyi. Zamlynskyi is a trusted associate of the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, and previously served as Deputy Minister of Defense for Finance and Internal Audit under Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov. Zamlynskyi approved and controlled prices for all of Reznikov’s controversial procurements, including instances where even basic drinking water was purchased above market rates, and winter jackets for the army were procured through intermediary firms linked to a Servant of the People MP. The jackets ultimately turned out to be autumn, not winter, wear.
Following the scandal and inquiries from Western allies, the Presidential Office removed Zamlynskyi from the Ministry of Defense, and Yermak appointed him as a special envoy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The motive behind this intrigue is clear: Yermak sought to retaliate against Fedorov for attempting to take control of the Ministry of Defense and is working to entirely eliminate Fedorov’s political influence, as he had previously done with Kubrakov and others.
In 2023, thanks to a personal decision by the Commander-in-Chief Volodymyr Zelensky, Fedorov received substantial funding from the state budget and began financing several critical projects focused on the development and deployment of Ukrainian drones. The drone initiative effectively became a project of the Commander-in-Chief, with Zelensky appointing Fedorov as its operator.
The first combat drone unit of the National Guard, created under this presidential directive, destroyed over 8,000 units of Russian occupiers’ military equipment in just one year of active service – a phenomenal level of effectiveness, the highest among all defense units.
It must be acknowledged that this scaling was made possible through the decision and support of President Zelensky, Prime Minister Shmyhal, Finance Minister Marchenko, and the management of Fedorov. Zelensky was pleased with the outcome, and indeed, this remains the only highly successful reform in the military sphere introduced by the Commander-in-Chief during the years of war.
However, this reform affected only certain military units and did not become systemic, leaving the broader army, which continues to suffer from outdated organization and insufficient funding for drones, largely untouched. Fedorov proposed to Zelensky a reform aimed at scaling successful drone deployment projects across the entire army and increasing resources allocated to drones and drone units.
To administer this initiative, Fedorov suggested appointing his ally, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov, as Minister of Defense. Kubrakov enjoyed Zelensky’s trust, possessed organizational skills, and had strong ties with Western partners. As part of this plan, the Unmanned Systems Forces were established, with Fedorov recommending Vadym Sukharievsky to lead them. After a personal interview, Zelensky appointed Sukharievsky to the role.
However, as soon as Fedorov presented this plan, Yermak became his staunch adversary. Yermak aims to control all foreign policy, which requires placing his loyalists in both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense. Yermak seeks to dominate informational and financial flows through his associates, with little regard for whether these individuals have knowledge of warfare or drones.
Kubrakov was the first to be politically sidelined by Yermak. Removing Fedorov proved more challenging, so Yermak launched a campaign to diminish his influence, effectively stripping him of control over the allocation of drone-related funds.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, did much to hinder Sukharievsky from working independently. For instance, Syrskyi refused to approve the Chief of Staff of the Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) for eight months. It is clear that this was not solely Syrskyi’s decision but was heavily influenced by Yermak.
This is not to say that Fedorov’s work was flawless, that his personnel decisions were always competent, or that drone procurement was entirely transparent. There were legitimate concerns about prices, intermediaries, and scandals. Criticism of Fedorov is also justified, and it is important to acknowledge this.
However, if we assess the results and weigh the balance – how much was invested versus how much enemy equipment was destroyed – the outcome is striking. The enemy’s losses due to this project are not just several times but 5-6 orders of magnitude greater than our expenditures on destroying their equipment and personnel.
It is all relative, and now, with certain companies having lobbyists among high-ranking officials and associates of Yermak, Arakhamia, Kolyubaiev, and Mindich, and with Reznikov’s former deputy in charge of the funds, complaints are unlikely to decrease.
At this moment, Andriy Yermak and his team have personally taken responsibility for the development of drones—overseeing technological changes in the army, setting funding priorities, and potentially altering the currently unfavorable course of the war. Whether they can manage the drone sector effectively remains to be seen, and updates will follow.
As President Zelensky stated in the Resilience Plan:
“We must not be afraid to discuss the difficult issues and challenges in the army. Effective solutions are only possible through honest conversations… Problems must be addressed, not silenced. Causes must be identified and eliminated.”
Tags: investigation russia ukraine war Ukraine
