Ukraine’s Parliament Appoints Mykhailo Fedorov as New Defense Minister

Ukraine’s parliament has approved the appointment of Mykhailo Fedorov as the country’s new minister of defense, backing the decision with 277 votes in the Verkhovna Rada .

Speaking ahead of the vote, Fedorov said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had set out a clear and uncompromising mandate for the defense ministry: to build a system capable of stopping Russia in the air, halting advances on the ground, and expanding Ukraine’s asymmetric, cyber, and economic strikes against the aggressor.

“Make the cost of war for Russia something it cannot sustain. Stop the enemy by force. We must begin working in the information and cognitive domain and counter Russian propaganda, including inside enemy territory,” Fedorov said.

He also announced plans to launch a comprehensive audit of both the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the near term, aimed at identifying additional resources to improve financial support and social protections for service members.

“Anti-corruption is the foundation of the new Ministry of Defense. Today, anyone who steals during wartime is our enemy,” Fedorov added.

Mykhailo Fedorov has been serving as an external advisor to the President on digital issues since May 2019. In 2019, he was elected to the Verkhovna Rada.

In 2019, Fedorov was appointed Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Digital Transformation. In 2023, he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science, and Technology Development, Minister of Digital Transformation.

On July 17, 2025, Fedorov was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Digital Transformation.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR), as the next chief of the Presidential Office.

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