Fedorov’s focus on drones, high-tech warfare and procurement continued after he become defence minister.
In the early days of his tenure he also asked SpaceX founder Elon Musk to stop Russia from using Starlink satellites for drone attacks – a move that caused considerable disruption to Russia’s frontline operations and advance.
His ministry also played a significant part in Ukraine’s recent attacks on the Moscow-occupied Crimean peninsula, which last month Fedorov vowed to “cut off” from Russia entirely, with the use of mid-range drone strikes.
In a Facebook post shortly after his dismissal, Fedorov listed his achievements and said he would “continue… to defeat the enemy through asymmetry, speed of innovation, and organisational strength”.
Prominent blogger Serhii Sternenko, whom Fedorov brought in as an adviser, hailed his former boss as “the best minister of defence in our entire history” and bemoaned the “bureaucratic obstacles and artificial delays” he said had stood in the way of deeper reform.
Pavlo Yelizarov, a renowned drone unit commander, resigned from his position of deputy commander of the Ukrainian Air Force in protest at Fedorov’s sacking – a move he called “a great evil for the country’s defence capability”.
Additional reporting by Anastasiia Levchenko.