Ukrainian Armed Forces veteran Mykola Melnyk explained why the protests won’t bring Fedorov back to the Ministry of Defense
3 August 17:05
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Fedorov’s return to office is no longer possible, and fears that allies will refuse to provide weapons due to personnel changes are greatly exaggerated. , a former commander of an M2 Bradley mechanized company and participant in the Revolution of Dignity, Mykola Melnyk, made these remarks in an interview for the YouTube channel "Komersant Ukrainian".
Mykola Melnyk noted Mykhailo Fedorov’s high level of managerial and media skills, as well as his role in modernizing the Ukrainian military. At the same time, he emphasized that the former minister himself had become a full-fledged party to the political conflict. Melnyk believes that Fedorov’s return to the post of defense minister is unlikely, as Volodymyr Zelenskyy does not change his decisions in such situations.
“Fedorov will not return to the position of defense minister. The Presidential Administration understands this perfectly well… In this situation, I don’t see any way Fedorov could make a comeback. What will happen is what always happens: a game of badminton with shit, which will leave all sides splattered and stinking, and everyone will lose as a result,” Melnik warned.
He also analyzed the tactics behind the street protests and the media campaign in support of the former architect of digital reforms. Fedorov’s team and civic activists skillfully linked a less popular demand (Fedorov’s return) to a demand that is more popular among the public and the army—the removal of General Oleksandr Syrskyi. According to Melnik, officials on Bankova Street saw through this strategy and neutralized the protest by appointing General Mykhailo Drapaty, who commands great respect within the army, as commander-in-chief. This deprived the “cardboard Maidans” of active support from the military and veteran movement.
According to Melnik, Fedorov wielded significant influence (combining digitalization, special communications, etc.) and turned down other job offers from Zelenskyy due to his principled stance.
In Melnik’s view, Yevhen Khmara’s temporary leadership of the agency was a necessary step to quickly put out the personnel crisis, and Khmara and Drapaty are capable of finding common ground for effective management.
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Will allies halt arms deliveries due to the minister’s resignation?
Commenting on statements by some civil society representatives that Western partners had allegedly warned the President of a threat to arms supplies in the event of Fedorov’s dismissal, Melnik expressed skepticism. He acknowledges that any change in leadership creates temporary bureaucratic delays (“hold-ups”) at lower levels of management due to changes in teams and deputies. However, this is not a critical factor for overall support from allies.
“Our partners might think something like, ‘We don’t understand why this was done.’ Well, we don’t understand why it was done either… But I wouldn’t say it’s so critical that they’ve stopped supplying us with weapons altogether. Will they refuse to give weapons to a combat general just because Fedorov was removed? It seems to me that this is somewhat an exaggeration of the situation,” noted the Ukrainian Armed Forces veteran.
Melnik emphasized that military and political assistance from the U.S. and other partners is based on their own pragmatic and geopolitical interests, not on any specific government official. Thus, according to Mykola Melnik’s assessment, the personnel conflict surrounding the Ministry of Defense demonstrated the high effectiveness of media strategies on both sides; however, the matter of the ministry’s leadership has already been settled. Despite potential operational delays during the handover, Western allies will continue to support Ukraine, guided by their strategic interests in the confrontation with Russia.
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