Mykhailo Fedorov has said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky must return the post of Minister of Defense to him because it was he who managed to get Elon Musk to block Russia’s access to Starlink satellites. But now Zelensky seems to be competing with his former minister for closeness to the tech magnate, whom he has decorated with the Order of Liberty.
Zelensky’s decision was made public this Wednesday with a decree published on the website of the Ukrainian presidency. It explains that the Ukrainian president has decorated the owner of the aerospace technology company SpaceX for his “exceptional merits in defending people’s lives and freedom” and in “the development of relations between the peoples of Ukraine and the United States of America.”
Since the Russian army broke into Ukrainian territory and the current war began in February 2022, the internet service provided by the Starlink network has helped Ukrainian forces maintain their communications and coordinate their operations.
Ukraine wants to use Starlink in Russian territory, but Musk fears it will escalate the conflict
The awarding of the medal comes as Ukraine tries to persuade Musk to expand its access to his Starlink network, so that Ukrainian forces can use it within Russian territory, and not just in Ukrainian provinces controlled by Moscow. This would allow Ukraine to improve the precision of its missile and drone attacks against targets in the Russian rear.
“For now, Musk has said this would mean an escalation (of the conflict). But he could change his mind when he sees more arguments,” Zelensky told reporters last Saturday.
After a conversation between Elon Musk and Mykhailo Fedorov in February 2026, SpaceX disabled thousands of Starlink terminals that Russia had begun to use to guide its drones in its attacks on Ukraine, thereby weakening its military capabilities.
Fedorov challenged Zelensky by calling for elections in the middle of the war
It had been barely a month since Fedorov had been appointed Minister of Defense after holding the position of Minister of Digital Transformation. He is credited with the enormous development of the Ukrainian army, and for this reason, when Zelensky dismissed him last July, thousands of people demonstrated against it in several Ukrainian cities, causing a serious political crisis.
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The Ukrainian president offered him another important government position, but Fedorov rejected it. What he wants is to regain his position as head of Defense, something Zelensky has made clear there is no turning back from. Last week he officially proposed his replacement, Yevhenii Jmara, and his appointment was approved by the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian unicameral parliament).
That seems to have severed all ties between Zelensky and Fedorov. The latter even openly challenged the Ukrainian leader by calling for presidential elections to be held in wartime.
An honor instituted in 2008 that has recently been received by allied leaders of Ukraine such as Macron and Burnham
The president and the technocrat ex-minister are also vying to see who is closer to Elon Musk, and apparently both are trying on their own to get the American to expand Starlink’s use to Ukraine.
One of Fedorov’s arguments for asking for his old ministerial post is his rapport with Musk, with whom he says he still maintains contact. He is currently preparing a tour of the United States where he hopes to meet him.
The Order of Liberty was instituted in 2008 by the Rada to honor the special merits of Ukrainian or foreign citizens for their work in strengthening Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence. Kyiv has often awarded it to foreign leaders for their support of Ukraine. Recently, it has been received by the President of France, Emmanuel Macron; the British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham; and the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda.
Russia’s Interpretation
The Kremlin says Kyiv is “collapsing” due to its “internal struggles”
The Kremlin took advantage of the dispute between Volodymyr Zelensky and his former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov this Wednesday to express its interpretation of Ukrainian politics. “The Kyiv regime is collapsing from within,” asserted Dmitry Peskov, press chief for Russian President Vladimir Putin, commenting on recent statements by Fedorov.
The former Ukrainian Defense Minister told Reuters this week that Ukraine seemed to be slowly losing the war with Russia, and warned that Kyiv has several months to make key decisions needed to turn the tide in its favor.
According to Peskov, these statements are a sign of growing internal political disputes and he accused European countries supporting Ukraine of failing to realize that Kyiv’s ruling elite is self-destructing. “Internal political, or rather, quasi-political, struggles are taking place within the Kyiv regime, and they are intensifying. The Kyiv regime is crumbling from within,” the Kremlin spokesman said.
President Zelensky’s office, for its part, reacted by pointing out that Fedorov had maintained a positive attitude about the course of the war while he was Defense Minister, and that the only thing that has changed is his personal status.
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