President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a reshuffle of the Cabinet of Ministers on Sunday, July 12 — surprisingly even for his own faction: according to media reports, MPs from the Servant of the People party learned about Svyrydenko's resignation from the president's social media post rather than from party leadership. The very next day, the Verkhovna Rada supported the government's resignation with 258 votes.
Why Now
Yulia Svyrydenko headed the Cabinet for exactly one year — since July 2025. According to RBC-Ukraine, the president offered her a new position: rumors suggest Ukraine's ambassador to the United States instead of Olga Stefanishyna. Svyrydenko has not yet agreed. Sergiy Koretsky — head of Naftogaz, who previously managed the WOG gas station network and Ukrnafta — is named as the main candidate for prime minister.
But the real intrigue is not about the premiership.
Fedorov: A Reformer Under Fire
Mikhail Fedorov became Defense Minister a few months ago, coming from the position of Minister of Digital Transformation. During this time, he initiated an audit of the ministry and army brigades, which revealed overspending of 300 billion hryvnias, introduced polygraph checks for employees, and transferred part of procurement to open tenders.
"Mikhail Fedorov is an effective defense minister. It looks like the army has become more orderly, accounting has improved, and corruption flows have decreased. The fact that there was no notable corruption scandal around the army during Fedorov's tenure is also very revealing."
Head of the 4th Recruitment Center of the Armed Forces, Espreso
However, as The Economist writes, it is precisely Fedorov's reform activity that has intensified his conflict with military leadership — particularly with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky. Generals acknowledge the minister's successes in developing drone technology and digitizing the army, but call him "incompetent for planning war" due to his lack of military experience. According to Texty.org.ua, Fedorov even attempted to secure Syrsky's resignation — and did not receive the president's support.
In early July, during a military council meeting between the Armed Forces command and the Defense Ministry leadership, open tension erupted. Soon, posts appeared in telegram channels hinting at corruption in drone procurement — which a number of sources interpret as a coordinated attack on the minister.
Klymenko Instead of Fedorov: The Logic of Mobilization
Two LB.ua sources close to the Office of the President, and one source in Klymenko's circle, confirm: current Interior Minister Igor Klymenko is being considered as the main candidate for Defense Minister. The logic is to improve the mobilization situation: the Interior Ministry controls the police, which is involved in mobilization efforts, and Klymenko has a reputation as someone capable of ensuring orders are executed.
- Klymenko — an experienced law enforcement professional, but without experience in defense procurement and reforming army bureaucracy.
- Budanov appeared as a candidate in early versions of the scenario, but RBC-Ukraine sources deny this option.
- Fedorov, according to Zelensky as of July 15, has not yet received a final decision — the president announced negotiations between military leadership and the minister.
What's Really at Stake
Fedorov's conflict with generals is not a personal dispute. It is a question of who controls the country's largest budget during wartime and who has the right to reform a system that has developed over decades. The audit revealing 300 billion hryvnias in overspending — this is not statistics, this is someone's concrete interests threatened by the new order.
If Klymenko indeed gets the Defense Ministry, the real question is not his ability to manage the department. The question is whether the new minister will continue the anti-corruption audits initiated by Fedorov — or whether they will quietly end with Fedorov's tenure.
