Mykhailo Fedorov is Ukraine's new defense minister

Upon the recommendation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, former First Deputy Prime Minister and current Minister for Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov will take over as the head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

On the second attempt, a majority ofUkraine's parliament voted in favour of his appointment on Wednesday. A vote on the previous day surprisngly fell short.

The Ukrainian president justified his decision in advance by emphasizing the need to ensure "maximum technological capability" for the army in case diplomatic efforts fail and Russia's war against Ukraine continues for even longer.

"The main principle is that the technological capacity of our defense must save the lives of our warriors. Russia has one significant advantage in this war — the ability to exert pressure through the scale of its strikes and assaults against Ukraine. We must respond with more active use of technology, faster development of new types of weapons, and new tactics," Zelenskyy posted on X.

Previously, the Defense Ministry was headed by former Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who had only taken office five months ago and has now become the energy minister.

Fedorov is the sixth defense minister to be appointed by Zelenskyy and, at 34, the youngest in Ukraine's history. Until now, he has worked exclusively in the area of digital technologies.

In 2019, he was involved in Zelenskyy's presidential election campaign and in charge of digital affair. He established online communications and a network of social media sites. After Zelenskyy's election victory, Fedorov took over as head of the Ministry of Digital Transformation and retained the position despite several government reshuffles.

He implemented a number of digital reforms in Ukraine, launching several successful projects, including the popular e-government platforms Diia and Diia.City.

Ukrainian political scientist Mykola Davydiuk welcomed Zelenskyy's decision to appoint Fedorov as defense minister. In his view, Fedorov has already proven his competence in public administration. "The Ministry of Digital Transformation is one of the few government agencies that has achieved good results," he told DW.

But he also pointed out that the Defense Ministry posed a major challenge due to its extensive bureaucracy and the high risk of corruption. "If Fedorov's team manages to change at least 10% of the Defense Ministry in the same way it has done with bureaucracy and digitalization so far, and if it becomes a strong Defense Ministry with drones instead of people fighting, then everyone will benefit."

The deputy head of the public anti-corruption council at the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Tetiana Nikolayenko, has criticized the constant changes in leadership at the ministry during the war. She fears that Fedorov will have a difficult time in his new position.

"Mykhailo can be as effective as he wants in numbers, but a couple of rotten food cans or a shortage of supplies in some hospital, faulty mines or bad uniforms" and his career would be ruined, she posted on Facebook.

Oleksandr Hara, an international and security policy expert at the Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies, was also skeptical about the appointment. "The idea that more robots and drones are needed on the front lines and that an experienced digitalization manager like Fedorov should therefore be appointed defense minister does not work," he told DW, adding that "many of the problems faced by arms manufacturers do not fall within the remit of the Ministry of Defense."Arms exports must be resumed, he said, as companies needed to make profits in order to be able to invest in development. "These issues remain unresolved," he pointed out.

Furthermore, Hara did not believe that digitalization alone can curb corruption in a government agency. To eradicate bribery, changes were needed throughout the entire state administration, he pointed out, including reform of the procurement system. "In addition to digitalization, civilian control must also be ensured, which could be carried out by a general inspectorate under the supervision of parliament," he told DW. But for this, Fedorov didn't need to become defense minister, he said. "That's not the responsibility of the Defense Ministry but of a government agency," he told DW. Hara was convinced that Fedorov was more of an asset for Ukraine in his previous role.

However, political scientist Ihor Reiterovych, a Kyiv-based independent political expert, said that Fedorov was well positioned to break down the bureaucratic and corrupt structures in the Defense Ministry. He believed that his appointment as defense minister had the potential to bring about real change.

"It is crucial that Fedorov has a clear plan to strengthen digital and technological components, particularly with a focus on drones and robots," he told DW. "If he is given free rein by the president and receives the support of parliament, he can quickly change the system and make unpopular decisions in the process," he said.

Reiterovych further emphasized that Fedorov was not part of the internal groups of influence in the Defense Ministry and thus would have more freedom in personnel and management decisions. Fedorov is used to working quickly, he added, and those who are not prepared to do so cannot survive in the system. "We have no other choice: either we implement technological and administrative changes quickly, or we will face even bigger problems on the front lines," he warned.

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This article was originally published in Ukrainian.