Zelenskyy details rift with dismissed defense minister

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says actions by dismissed Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, including his involvement in protests and calls for elections, were misguided

KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he believes actions taken by dismissed Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, including his involvement in mass protests and calls for elections, were misguided, as he publicly detailed their dispute for the first time.

Zelenskyy also alluded to problematic decisions over defense spending and said inaccurate information provided by the Defense Ministry contributed to an awkward encounter with U.S. President Donald Trump over the use of Starlink in Russia.

Zelenskyy disclosed figures showing Ukraine’s growing shortage of Patriot air-defense missiles needed to counter Russian ballistic attacks, with deliveries from Western allies declining in the past three years even as Russian missile strikes intensified.

He highlighted battlefield gains, however, saying Ukrainian forces have almost completely recaptured the Dnipropetrovsk region, with only about 10 square kilometers remaining under Russian control.

He made the remarks during a two-hour off-the-record meeting with reporters on Saturday, with a transcript released publicly on Sunday.

His comments ranged widely, covering the latest battlefield developments, efforts to counter Russian ballistic attacks, the state of peace negotiations, Ukraine’s budgetary challenges and the political turmoil surrounding Fedorov’s dismissal.

“I 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,” he said.

Fedorov, a popular minister credited with modernizing Ukraine’s armed forces and accelerating the military’s embrace of technology and drone warfare, was dismissed last month after reportedly falling out with the country’s top military commander. His removal triggered mass protests that lasted for weeks but ultimately failed to force a reversal of the decision. Fedorov later called for elections in a video address

Zelenskyy said he had offered Fedorov four different options to continue working in government. Fedorov, he said, rejected all four proposals.

Zelenskyy appeared to link Fedorov to an awkward episode involving Starlink and Elon Musk. Zelenskyy 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.

Acting on that, Zelenskyy said, he raised the issue directly with U.S. President Donald Trump. He told Trump that Musk had confirmed the proposed use. Zelenskyy said the two sides subsequently sought Musk’s confirmation and discussed financing for the project.

But at a later meeting, Zelenskyy said Trump told him that Musk had rejected the proposal and accused him of having misled the U.S. president. Musk considered the move a dangerous escalation, according to Zelenskyy.

“He said that I had supposedly deceived him because Musk had denied Ukraine the use of Starlink on Russian territory.