Ukraine appoints a new defence minister and moves the former defence minister to the energy ministry

Yahoo
Yahoo
8h ago
Ukraine’s parliament confirmed Mykhailo Fedorov as defence minister and appointed Denys Shmyhal as energy minister and first deputy prime minister during a second attempt to fill the posts.
Ukraine appoints a new defence minister and moves the former defence minister to the energy ministry
A What happened
Ukraine’s parliament confirmed Mykhailo Fedorov as defence minister with 277 votes after an earlier attempt failed to schedule a vote. President Volodymyr Zelensky nominated Fedorov and said his most urgent task was improving air defence. Fedorov told parliament about a shortage of soldiers and said about 2 million men had evaded mobilization and 200,000 soldiers had deserted or left units without permission. Denys Shmyhal, dismissed a few days earlier as defence minister, was appointed energy minister and first deputy prime minister after previously falling 16 votes short of confirmation.

Key insights

  • 1

    Zelensky set air defence as the top priority for the new defence minister: Zelensky said Fedorov’s most urgent task was “protection of the sky,” referring to better air defence against Russian attacks.

  • 2

    Fedorov cited large-scale mobilization evasion and desertion: Fedorov said about 2 million men had evaded mobilization and 200,000 soldiers had deserted or left their units without permission.

  • 3

    Fedorov said the military structure was outdated and overly bureaucratic: Fedorov said the military’s organizational structure was outdated and that there was too much bureaucracy.

Takeaways

Ukraine’s parliament confirmed Mykhailo Fedorov as defence minister and installed Denys Shmyhal as energy minister and first deputy prime minister.

Topics

Climate & Environment Energy World & Politics Governance Security & Defense

Stay ahead with OwlBrief

Daily briefs that distill the world’s important events — clear, verified, and designed for understanding.

Newsletter

Get OwlBrief in your inbox

A fast, high-signal digest of the day’s most important events — plus the context that makes them make sense.

Quick to read. Useful all day.