"He will be reckless". Will the Rada approve Fedorov's appointment to the Defense Ministry and what will it change?

This week, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine may vote on a reshuffle in the Cabinet of Ministers. Denys Shmyhal, who has been very effective as Defense Minister, will be replaced by Mykhailo Fedorov.Not all MPs like this adjustment, saying it is too early to remove it. But will they support it in parliament and what will it do? To understand this LIGA.net talked to parliamentarians and representatives of the public supervisory board at the Ministry of Defense.Will the Parliament support Shmyhal's replacement?on January 2, the president proposed that Fedorov become Ukraine's new defense minister. According to Zelenskyy, Fedorov will be able to "add technology." He is also expected to strengthen the drone sector."I expect that in the parliament support such a strengthening," the President said.Both ministers submitted their resignations to the parliament on January 9. Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said that MPs would consider them at one of the next Rada meetings.Voting for this government reshuffle does not involve intrigue, respondents say LIGA.net deputies.The leader of the faction Servant of the people David Arakhamia made it clear that the members of the presidential majority would support the President's decision:The appointment and dismissal of the Minister of Defense is the responsibility of the President of Ukraine. It is clear that the faction supports its president.However, despite respect for the achievements of both officials, not everyone in the parliament supports this personnel change.Why not everyone likes Shmyhal's replacementThe main argument of the critics is that Shmyhal is being dismissed from the Ministry of Defense too soon.All interlocutors LIGA.net call the current head of the Defense Ministry a systematic and professional person. "This cannot be compared to the previous defense minister. The work is systematic and strategic, in all areas, and it's nice to see," says Roman Kostenko, a representative of the Defense Committee (Holos).Within six months of his appointment, Shmyhal was indeed able to establish work processes in the ministry, which he received in a state of partial collapse, quite effectively. Moreover, he was ready for the job – even before his appointment, he had actually acted as a minister.Why did this happen? LIGA.net analyzed the text in detail "If Syrsky doesn't eat it". Shmyhal takes over from Umerov at the Defense Ministry – what kind of minister will he be?.Oleksandr Zavitnevych, chairman of the parliamentary committee on national security, defense and intelligence, confirms that Shmyhal's strong managerial position in the key defense agency has helped to raise many areas.His colleague in the faction and committee is complemented by Fedor Venislavsky. According to him, Shmyhal is knowledgeable in almost everything, from weapons and their samples to defense procurement.ReferenceAmong the key achievements of the Ministry of Defense in 2025, Shmyhal himself highlights the development of digitalization as the basis for systemic changes in the army. In particular, the following results are mentioned:The Impulse personnel accounting system was launched;6 million users of Reserve+: electronic referrals to the MLC, online payment of fines, automatic deferrals;Resource management in accordance with NATO standards: the SAP-based logistics management system was launched;Scaling of DOT-Chain Defense;83% of units work in the Medical Information System, and 186 units of CSR, KMS, SPS, SSO and SBS work with the electronic Primary Medical Record;All digital systems of the Ministry of Defense are under the constant supervision of the Cyber Defense Center.We can also add to the list of achievements the launch of the digital system "Budget" by the Armed Forces. The system promptly shows how much money has been allocated, spent, and how much is left over. Streamlining these processes has been a long-standing impasse that has finally gained the prospect of resolution.Shmyhal has just begun to build the system – from procurement and recruiting centers to personnel decisions and military quarters duty, he states LIGA.net solomiya Bobrovska, representative of the Defense Committee (Holos).She calls the replacement of the current defense minister a "catastrophic mistake." "Now is not the time," she says.The replacement of the special services and the Ministry of Defense in the current format looks strange, the MP continues: "We are not touching the Armed Forces, where there is a mixture of authoritarianism and permissiveness, but we are interfering with bodies that have just started to work normally or are relatively effective."However, despite all the warnings, this personnel reshuffle will be supported. For the dismissal of the head of the SBU Vasyl Malyuk the parliament was still ready to fight, to demonstrate subjectivity and not support him. But the story of Shmyhal and Fedorov is not the case.Why Shmyhal is to be reshuffled in the Energy MinistryThe president wants Shmyhal to head the Ministry of Energy. MP Inna Sovsun (Holos) considers this decision a step of desperation – many potential candidates have refused this position.According to her, the president appealed to a person who "never refused him at all." The key thing, the MP emphasizes, is that he is a person who is able to "harness up."I really hope that he will be able to establish systematic work within the Ministry of Energy, because there is a catastrophic lack of order there: the ministry has actually disintegrated, there are not enough adequate people and a strong team of deputies.Andriy Gerus, chairman of the Committee on Energy, shares a similar opinion."He has experience and the appropriate level of professionalism. He devoted a lot of time to the energy sector when he was prime minister. He held anti-crisis energy headquarters, delved deeply into specialized issues," explains the MP.Therefore, Shmyhal has a good chance of garnering enough votes to be appointed Energy Minister.Fedorov as Defense Minister: Innovation and RiskMPs are more cautious about Fedorov's prospects as defense minister. Not because they have any personal complaints against him, but because of the fact that the minister has been replaced.When a new team comes in, the search for new reforms will begin, Kostenko says. Experimenting with the defense department during the war is a risk.The replacement of Shmyhal with Fedorov is a political move and is most likely related to the negotiation process, says LIGA.net yehor Chernev, a member of the Defense Committee (DSC). At the same time, he said, this means moving away from "the Soviet-style army and moving to a modern model of the army.""Fedorov's appointment as defense minister indicates a change in priorities: maximum digitalization of the army and the transition to drones as one of the key combat units," he says.However, it is impossible to "impose innovations and technologies on an organism that is not yet alive," Bobrovska argues.Moreover, Fedorov's current position does not contradict the direction of innovation, technology and drones. In particular, much of the digital transformation that took place in the Ministry of Defense last year was implemented with his participation.But the Ministry has a lot of problems and tasks that cannot be digitized, such as mobilization, provisioning, and payments, procurement and quality control. And after his appointment as minister, Fedorov will have to be responsible not only for drones and innovative technologies, but for every can of low-quality stew that may end up in the units."This is a gigantic system of the Ministry of Strategy and the Ministry of Defense – from underwear to missiles, procurement, SZH, TCC," Bobrovska says. "I think Fedorov does not fully realize the scale of the structure he has been trying to get into for four years. Or he will face some other political task."The scale of the tasks is really different, confirms LIGA.net tatiana Nikolayenko, deputy head of the Public Anti-Corruption Council at the Defense Ministry. "Fedorov made the Ministry of Digital Transformation to suit himself. He comes to the Defense Ministry to a ready-made and very complex facility.Which, moreover, has a limited amount of money. In order to maintain defense funding, Ukraine must either continuously attract Western funds, following the Danish model, or take a step that has been seeking for a long time industry: launch arms exports."This launch will be accompanied by huge scandals, lobbying, and corruption, because it will involve the redistribution of a lot of money," predicts Nikolayenko. There will be scandals and Fedorov will not be able to do anything about it.In addition, it is more difficult to address the issue of increasing the drone component in the position of Defense Minister, she adds. In addition to the minister's plans, the process rests on the needs and orders of the General Staff, which are formed not by technical characteristics but by the name of the product. No one will buy a drone that is not on this list."So the new minister will have to balance his reality between dependence on the nomenclature of the General Staff's order and how much money the Ministry of Finance will allocate to him," says Nikolayenko.What are Fedorov's advantages as Defense Minister?In order to deal with systemic problems in the Defense Ministry, we need a minister and a team that can work with complex systems and are not afraid of daily work, he says LIGA.net is one of the former deputy ministers of defense.Fedorov's appointment may eliminate the confrontation that formed last year in the Ministry of Strategy and Industry-MinCycle-MinDef triangle around drones. All three agencies were trying to make their own changes to the regulations governing the drone market, which slowed down its work.As suggested by LIGA.net one of the former deputy defense ministers, the energy of Fedorov and his team can redirect the conflict that has historically and legally existed between the Defense Ministry and the General Staff into a constructive direction. This will benefit both institutions.Shmyhal is a very systematic person, he has been observing for a long time and moving very carefully in this position, adds Nikolayenko. "Fedorov will move very freely and quickly. But his acquaintance with the reality of the General Staff and the Logistics Forces Command is just ahead."These structures have their own vision and are very slow to change," she warns, "so I think his personal dynamics may now clash with those of the General Staff.However, even this scenario could lead to unexpected results, Bobrovska concludes. "The question is whether he will go into a clash with Syrsky? Then this is a potential change of the commander-in-chief – this scenario is also possible," says the MP. "He will be more reckless than the conservative Shmyhal.Read alsoBudanov heads the Presidential Office – first conclusions and forecasts

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