The decision, announced late Tuesday, July 21 came just days after Fedorov was removed from office, triggering street protests in several Ukrainian cities and exposing tensions at the top of the country’s war effort.

Zelensky said he had met Fedorov earlier on Tuesday and offered him a “worthy position in power”, although he did not say whether the former minister had accepted.

“All decisions will be formalised tomorrow,” Zelensky added in a social media post.

The changes have fueled speculation about a conflict between Fedorov and Syrskyi, with initial rumours of tensions between the two officials later appearing to be confirmed.

Zelensky thanked Syrskyi for his military service, including his role in defending Kyiv during the first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

Syrskyi, 60, has been criticised by some in Ukraine as a Soviet-school commander resistant to radical reforms in the military.

Fedorov, 35, had been widely praised for pushing innovation, using data to improve battlefield performance and leading efforts to fight corruption.

Fedorov, who became defence minister only in January, was last week replaced by Yevhenii Khmara, a former senior official at Ukraine’s Security Service.

His appointment to the defence ministry followed a career marked by technology-driven initiatives in the war effort. As a former minister of digital transformation, Fedorov helped establish the volunteer “IT Army of Ukraine” in the early days of the full-scale invasion to launch cyber-attacks against Russia.

He later led the Army of Drones fundraising campaign and introduced “gamification” into military operations by creating a system that rewarded Ukrainian units with credits for striking Russian assets.

Congratulating Drapatyi on his appointment, Fedorov described it as a “new hope in the fight of free people for freedom and justice”.

He also called it “the voice of change that could not be ignored”.