{"id":7285,"date":"2026-08-24T08:06:27","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T08:06:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7285"},"modified":"2026-08-24T08:06:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T08:06:27","slug":"zelensky-details-rift-with-ukraines-dismissed-defense-minister-fedorov","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7285","title":{"rendered":"Zelensky details rift with Ukraine’s dismissed Defense Minister Fedorov"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Ukrainian President\u00a0Volodymyr Zelensky\u00a0said that he believes actions taken by\u00a0dismissed Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, including his involvement in mass protests and calls for an election, were misguided, as he publicly detailed their dispute for the first time.<\/p>\n

Read more Fan leaps down two rows to stomp fellow spectator in wild brawl during Mets-White Sox game<\/a><\/p>\n

Zelensky also alluded to problematic decisions over defense spending and said that inaccurate information provided by the Defense Ministry contributed to an awkward encounter with US President Donald Trump over\u00a0the use of Starlink\u00a0in Russia.<\/p>\n

Zelensky disclosed figures showing Ukraine\u2019s growing shortage of Patriot air-defense\u00a0missiles needed to counter Russian ballistic attacks, with deliveries from Western allies declining in the past three years even as Russian missile strikes intensified.<\/p>\n

He highlighted battlefield gains, however, saying Ukrainian forces have almost completely recaptured\u00a0the Dnipropetrovsk region, with only about around 4 square miles remaining under Russian control.<\/p>\n

The Ukrainian president made the remarks during a two-hour off-the-record meeting with reporters on Saturday, with a transcript released publicly on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Zelensky\u2019s first public comments on Fedorov dismissal<\/h2>\n

His comments ranged widely, covering the latest battlefield developments, efforts to counter\u00a0Russian ballistic attacks, the state of peace negotiations, Ukraine\u2019s budgetary challenges and the political turmoil surrounding Fedorov\u2019s dismissal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really had and still have a very positive attitude toward Mykhailo. We have been through a lot together. But I believe that he himself goes, or is pushed, into the wrong things,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Fedorov, a popular minister credited with modernizing Ukraine\u2019s armed forces and accelerating the military\u2019s embrace of technology and drone warfare, was dismissed last month after reportedly falling out with the country\u2019s top military commander. <\/p>\n

His removal triggered mass protests that lasted for weeks, but ultimately failed to force a reversal of the decision. Fedorov later called for an election.<\/p>\n

Zelensky said that he had offered Fedorov four different options to continue working in the government. Fedorov, he said, rejected all of them.<\/p>\n

The Ukrainian leader told journalists that he believes holding an election during\u00a0the war\u00a0would be a huge risk with the potential to \u201csplit Ukraine apart.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe elections during a war like this would generally pose enormous risks. Holding elections right now would be a tsunami for the state that would split Ukraine apart,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Zelensky said he had previously faced pressure to hold an election during the war, but no partners had come up with a plan for how a poll could be held safely, legitimately and democratically.<\/p>\n

Inaccurate information led to uncomfortable White House encounter<\/h2>\n

Zelensky appeared to link Fedorov to an awkward episode involving Starlink and Elon Musk. <\/p>\n

Zelensky said that earlier this year, the Defense Ministry had told him that SpaceX had agreed to allow Ukraine to use Starlink over Russian territory to carry out deep strike operations, subject to political approval.<\/p>\n

Acting on that, Zelensky said, he raised the issue directly with US President Donald Trump. He told Trump that Musk had confirmed the proposed use. Zelensky said the two sides subsequently sought Musk\u2019s confirmation and discussed financing for the project.<\/p>\n

But at a later meeting, Zelensky said that Trump told him that Musk had rejected the proposal and accused him of having misled the US president. Musk considered the move a dangerous escalation, according to Zelensky.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said that I had supposedly deceived him, because Musk had denied Ukraine the use of Starlink on Russian territory. I went back to our Ministry of Defense and they said that maybe it was so,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Read more Sean Grayson, ex-Illinois deputy who fatally shot Sonya Massey over pot of hot water, dead in prison at 32<\/a><\/p>\n

Zelensky didn\u2019t explicitly accuse Fedorov of lying. He said that the situation was among the reasons behind \u201csome of the steps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zelensky also pushed back against protesters\u2019 vilification of former army chief,\u00a0Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, who he dismissed, and current Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Yevhen Khmara, saying they had gone too far.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe someone doesn\u2019t like Syrskyi for one reason or another. But the slogans \u2018Syrskyi is the devil, Khmara is the devil,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cListen, this is too much. Do you understand? In principle, you can\u2019t treat the military like this and tolerate it, especially when it was the military that made it possible for any peaceful protests to take place in the Ukrainian capital at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pressure on defense budget but military successes<\/h2>\n

Zelenskyy also described severe financial pressure on Ukraine\u2019s defense effort. He said that the Defense Ministry faced a $27 billion budget shortfall after spending decisions earlier in the year brought forward funds originally intended for the second half of this year.<\/p>\n

Touching on\u00a0a corruption inquiry\u00a0that led Zelensky to fire one of his most senior officials this week, he said that anti-corruption investigators don\u2019t believe that the president was involved. <\/p>\n

The investigators had named a deputy head of the presidential office among the suspects in a money-laundering case.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe heads of anti-corruption agencies have zero questions for me. They understand perfectly well that I am not involved in anything like that. And this is important to me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On the battlefield, Zelensky was optimistic. <\/p>\n

In addition to Ukraine almost completely regaining control of the Dnipropetrovsk region, he said that another operation was underway elsewhere and that its results were expected by the end of August.<\/p>\n

He also predicted that by the end of the year, Ukraine could reach parity between the territory occupied by Russia since the beginning of the year and the territory retaken by Ukrainian forces. <\/p>\n

Zelensky said that Russia had occupied about 380 square miles since the start of the year, while Ukraine had restored control over roughly 315 square miles.<\/p>\n

The president said that Russia\u2019s principal objective remained the Konstantynivka-Sloviansk-Kramatorsk axis, and that Moscow was still demanding that Ukraine withdraw from the Donbas region as a condition for a settlement.<\/p>\n

Still struggling for access to Patriot missiles<\/h2>\n
\n<\/div>\n

Zelensky said that Ukraine was receiving substantially fewer Patriot interceptor missiles even as Russian ballistic attacks are increasing.<\/p>\n

He said that Ukraine received 675 Patriot missiles in 2023, compared with 364 in 2025 and an expected 264 this year. Zelensky said that he wanted to secure 300 additional Patriot missiles for the coming winter, while Ukraine\u2019s air force had requested 360.<\/p>\n

The shortfall is particularly serious, because the United States and European partners are struggling to expand production. Zelensky said that he hoped Ukraine could obtain even 5% or 10% of US reserves and was able to pay for them.<\/p>\n

Zelensky said that Russia could eventually produce up to 1,300 ballistic missiles a year, compared with an estimated current capacity of 600.<\/p>\n

He said that Ukraine was also preparing alternatives to Starlink, including a European communications project, as Russia and China work on their own competing system.<\/p>\n

Read more Actor John Barrowman roasted over business class rant on flight: \u2018Entitlement is off the scale\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ukrainian President\u00a0Volodymyr Zelensky\u00a0said that he believes actions taken by\u00a0dismissed Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov were misguided, as he publicly detailed their dispute for the first time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"yoast_head":"\nZelensky details rift with Ukraine's dismissed Defense Minister Fedorov - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7285\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Zelensky details rift with Ukraine's dismissed Defense Minister Fedorov - 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