Ousted Ukraine Defense Minister Fedorov Joins Italy as Adviser

Mykhailo Fedorov, the former Ukrainian defense minister whose dismissal in July sparked nationwide protests, has accepted a position as an adviser on defense innovation to his Italian counterpart, Guido Crosetto. The announcement was made by Fedorov on August 28, 2026, following a meeting in Rome.

Fedorov, a 35-year-old tech specialist, served as Ukraine's defense minister from January 14 until his ouster on July 15 as part of a broader cabinet reshuffle by President Volodymyr Zelensky. His removal triggered rare wartime protests across Ukraine, with thousands of demonstrators, many of them young, calling for his reinstatement and the firing of Commander-in-Chief General Oleksandr Syrsky. While the protests and concurrent corruption investigations contributed to Syrsky's eventual dismissal, Zelensky did not offer Fedorov his old role back, instead proposing other government positions which Fedorov rejected, stating they lacked the budget and authority to be impactful.

Following his dismissal, Fedorov emerged as an opposition figure, publicly challenging Zelensky by calling for wartime elections and questioning the president's knowledge of government corruption. This trajectory...