34-year-old Mykhailo Fedorov, former Minister of Digital Transformation and architect of the Diia app, has become the youngest Defense Minister in Ukraine's history. His appointment marks the fourth leadership change in the Ministry of Defense since the start of the full-scale war. According to surveys, Fedorov enjoys more trust among Ukrainians than distrust, setting him apart from his predecessors.
Fedorov hails from Vasylivka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, a city occupied since the early days of the war. He stresses that the de-occupation of his hometown is a personal mission. Fedorov has been closely involved with President Zelensky's team, spearheading the digital electoral campaign in 2018 and later becoming the youngest Minister of Digital Transformation after Zelensky's victory.
The personnel reshuffle in the ministry was motivated by strategic challenges and a need for new approaches to defense and digitization. President Volodymyr Zelensky highlighted the importance of creating a defense system to counter aerial threats, enhance asymmetric and cyberattacks, and raise the cost of war for Russia. Fedorov's priorities are focused on "people, weapons, and systems": support for the military, development of advanced defense technologies, and full-scale digitalization of the ministry.
Fedorov's immediate priorities include air defense, technology adoption to halt ground offensives, infrastructure improvement, reform of mobilization centers, and the digitization of all ministry procedures. Plans call for a unified digital structure within the Ministry of Defense and General Staff, the deployment of over 7,000 digital officers, and the cultivation of an IT culture among defense forces.
Eight key areas for digitization have been identified: personnel management, logistics, procurement, weapons tracking, services for servicemen, data-driven decision-making, effective feedback, and network-centric operations. Current tools already include applications for servicemen, drone procurement marketplaces, and systems for real-time battlefield analysis.
The minister aims to scale up these digital initiatives, launch production of improved Ukrainian drones, create assault drone units, and build a national anti-drone dome. Special focus will be on training and knowledge-sharing programs for troops.
International cooperation will expand, leveraging Ukraine’s unique battlefield data for Western partners to train new technologies. Last year, the country secured a record level of defense funding, focusing on systematic reforms, logistics automation, modern tactics and technologies for defense capability, and minimizing personnel losses.
Fedorov faces organizational and political hurdles, including acceptance by experienced generals, establishing cybersecurity, and eliminating remnants of Soviet-era bureaucracy and corruption. However, defense system transformation is seen as a key pathway to strengthening Ukraine during this phase of war. Fedorov’s appointment signals a shift toward a technological model for warfare.
