Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto recently offered the dismissed Ukraine’s Defence Minister, Mykhailo Federov an adviser role in Italy.
Ukraine’s popular defence minister has been dismissed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy after only 6 months in office due to an internal conflict between Fedorov and the Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
Fedorov's and Syrskyi's main disagreement lied in opposing views on how Ukraine should fight and govern itself.
According to critics, Syrskyi had a more traditional Soviet-style approach that prioritises artillery and ground assault infantry with high casualty rates.
Meanwhile, Fedorov followed an asymmetric, tech-driven approach to warfare, designed to outsmart a larger adversary.
His track record includes scaling domestic drone production, negotiating the shutdown of Starlink terminals used illegally by Russian forces, and introducing ‘after action reviews’ (AAR) to boost Ukraine’s missile interception rates.
Fedorov also promoted pay raises, a new fixed-term contract system, and mechanisms to address soldiers going AWOL.
Italian defence minister praised Fedorov as a driver of military innovation, saying he was "one of those people who completely rewrote the rules of the game on the battlefield".
Fedorov had helped Ukraine first resist Russia's invasion and then regain the initiative by reshaping battlefield practices through new technologies, Crossetto said.
Following the dismissal, Ukraine’s president Zelensky offered Fedorov another position in the government as the deputy prime minister for military innovation.
Fedorov however didn’t want to accept any other role: “No other role carries the actual authority to combat procurement corruption, complete the army’s transformation, plan and execute asymmetric operations against the enemy, root out a culture of lies and unaccountability within the system.”
Following the dismissal, Italian defence minister asked Fedorov to become an adviser in Italy.
"I called him the day after his dismissal and said: When do you want to come to Rome and work with me as an adviser?" Crosetto shared in a recent interview.
According to him, Fedorov was “moved” and saw the offer as “a demonstration of esteem and friendship."
Fedorov’s 40-day operation to isolate the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula had reached unprecedented momentum, and any bureaucratic slowdowns could now leave frontline brigades vulnerable.
Especially because Russia is also preparing for another potential wave of mobilization after its autumn Duma elections.
Fedorov’s dismissal came as a shock and sparked protests since the former minister was widely credited with transforming the defence ministry and reducing corruption.
Many Ukrainians viewed the dismissal as politically risky during the war and as a serious political and military dispute, since all of his reforms haven’t been completed and progress on these vital changes will stall.
As a result of weeks of protests Syrskyi has also been fired and replaced with Mykhailo Drapatyi, as joint forces chief.
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