(July 29 – Reuters) – Former Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, in an interview published on Wednesday, said his efforts to overhaul the military’s procurement system were the main reason behind his dismissal this ​month in a military and political shake-up.

Fedorov, a technical expert seen by many ‌as an agent for change in the nearly 4-1/2-year-old war against Russia, told the media outlet Ukrainska Pravda that the proposed changes met resistance from officials inside and around the ministry.

“The reason is connected with ​procurement, tenders, to the fact that we began overhauling the processes in this ​area,” Fedorov, 35, told Ukrainska Pravda.

“This caused significant dissatisfaction among many people, ⁠who then started constantly exerting influence and spreading negativity, not just around the president but ​across the broader media space.”

Fedorov, who held office for six months, said his first undertaking ​in office was to introduce a tender system for procurement. “Our task was to fix the root of the problem as quickly as possible,” he said.

“First, launch tenders. Second, restructure the management system in the Defence Ministry, ​and choose the people working there differently, based on the goals we came in ​with.”

Fedorov was dropped from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s cabinet and replaced by Yevhenii Khmara, previously head of the SBU security service, in a shake-up that also saw Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko removed. (read more)