“In his evening address on January 2, 2026, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced a large-scale personnel reset of the state apparatus. The most important change was the proposal to appoint Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov to the position of Minister of Defense of Ukraine. The head of state emphasized that Fedorov has already proven his effectiveness in the development of the technological sector of defense, in particular in the scaling of drone production and digitalization”, — write on: ua.news
In his evening address on January 2, 2026, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced a large-scale personnel reset of the state apparatus. The most important change was the proposal to appoint Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov to the position of Minister of Defense of Ukraine.
The head of state emphasized that Fedorov has already proven his effectiveness in the development of the technological sector of defense, in particular in the scaling of drone production and digitalization of public services, which is critically important for the new format of the work of the defense department.
Denys Shmyhal, who headed the Ministry of Defense since July 2025, leaves his post, but remains in the presidential team. Zelensky thanked him for his systematic work and noted that Shmyhal will receive a new assignment to work in another important direction of state stability. Such a decision is explained by the need for greater “technological” processes within the Ministry of Defense, which is what Mykhailo Fedorov’s experience will be aimed at.
In addition to rotations in the Cabinet of Ministers, the president announced other key personnel decisions this evening. From now on, the Office of the President of Ukraine is headed by Kyrylo Budanov, who until that moment was in charge of military intelligence. Oleg Ivashchenko, former head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, has been appointed to the position of head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. Zelensky emphasized that such changes should make Ukraine more stable in 2026 and ensure a new level of coordination between security and political institutions.
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