Zelensky offered Fedorov a post in the NSDC — he refused and wants to return to the Defense Ministry

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky offered dismissed Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov a new position in the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, but Fedorov declined.

This was reported by the Financial Times, citing anonymous sources.

According to the publication’s sources, Fedorov is willing to rejoin Zelensky’s team on only one condition — reinstatement as defense minister.

“Right now [Fedorov] has a lot of influence. He wants one thing: to be reinstated [as defense minister]. And he knows that most of society is on his side,” said an FT source familiar with the negotiations between Fedorov and Zelensky.

Zelensky offered Fedorov a position in the NSDC with direct access to the president and authority over oversight of defense innovation and military reform. If accepted, Fedorov would have become the overseer of a defense technology program and efforts to scale up long-range weapons production. His responsibilities would also have included attracting foreign investment into Ukraine’s defense industry.

In the four days leading up to the publication of the article, Zelensky spent his time in meetings with military commanders and political advisers, trying to find a way out of the crisis that had erupted in the military leadership. According to the FT, Zelensky held an approximately six-hour meeting with Fedorov and has remained in contact with him since his resignation.