Ukraine confirms defence and energy ministers at second attempt

Ukraine, in a second effort on Wednesday, named its fourth defence minister in the nearly four years since it was attacked by Russia and also approved the former defence minister to the top job at the energy ministry.

A clear majority of 277 lawmakers voted for Mykhailo Fedorov for the top defence job. On Tuesday, there were not enough lawmakers in parliament to schedule a vote. President Volodymyr Zelensky had nominated Fedorov for the role.

Federov, who will be 35 next week, has been Ukraine’s digitial transformation minister since that ministry was established in 2019. After Russia launched its full-scale attack on Ukraine in February 2022, he took on the responsibility of expanding drone production in the country.

Zelensky said Federov’s most urgent task was “protection of the sky,” referring to better air defence against Russian attacks.

“There are concrete decisions that must be implemented as quickly as possible,” Zelensky added.

Fedorov addressed the shortage of soldiers in the Ukrainian army in parliament. He said about 2 million men had evaded mobilization and 200,000 soldiers had deserted or left their units without permission.

The military’s organizational structure was outdated, the new defence minister said, and there was too much bureaucracy.

Denys Shmyhal was appointed energy minister and first deputy prime minister after being dismissed a few days ago as defence minister with less than six months in the job. On Tuesday, he fell 16 votes short of confirmation.

Shmyhal headed the cabinet from 2020 to July 2025 as prime minister. The 50-year-old is considered loyal to Zelensky.

Current Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko was first deputy and economy minister under Shmyhal.