Mychajlo Fedorov's New Path: From Ukrainian Minister to Tech Entrepreneur and Advisor

When it became clear that Mychaylo Fedorov would not be getting his job back as defense minister in Volodymyr Zelensky's government, speculation was already running about where he would go. None of the positions he was offered attracted him. Would he challenge Zelensky for the presidency? Move abroad?

In a short time, a lot has become clear.

During a trip to Washington in late August, Fedorov has launched a new defense technology company, receiving its first investment from the American Palantir, an AI company that previously supplied software to Ukraine's defense.

Details about Fedorov's company - its name, or the size of Palantir's capital - are not known, but the products are to be offered to Ukraine as well as other countries.

Palantir has previously been noted for its close cooperation with the US Immigration and Border Protection Agency, ICE, which carried out a large number of deportations under Trump. Its CEO and founder Alex Karp is one of those tech profiles who started as a progressive entrepreneur, but ended up behind Donald Trump.

Karp and Fedorov have been dealing with each other for years. Fedorov also has direct contact with Elon Musk, founder of the satellite company Starlink, which has been extremely important for Ukraine's war capabilities.

Whether Musk and Fedorov also met in the United States, or whether Fedorov attended meetings with American politicians, is not known.

On the European side of the Atlantic, however, the Ukrainian has cultivated his political contacts. He was recently unexpectedly appointed as an advisor to Italy's Ministry of Defense. It is headed by Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, a right-wing politician who belongs to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party. Fedorov will help the Italians in matters of "innovation and modern warfare in a time of global challenges".

He also intends to establish a defense technology think tank and investment fund, and has stated that he intends to remain in Ukraine.

There, many Ukrainians raise their eyebrows at the man whom they just hailed as a hero, but who they now perceive as an opportunist. Nor have the statements Fedorov made in interviews landed well.

First, he called on Ukraine to hold elections, despite the state of war, a comment he made just a day before his successor as defense minister was approved. The lion's share of Ukrainians believe that an election during a burning war is unrealistic.

Shortly thereafter, Fedorov said that the war is heading in the wrong direction for Ukraine:

- We are facing a turning point, and it seems that we are slowly but surely losing, he said in an interview with the news agency Reuters on August 25.

It was not long ago that he claimed the exact opposite, and emphasized that Ukraine, through its successful attacks on Russian targets, managed to turn the fortunes of war in its favor, among other things through his own leadership. Today, he claims that infighting in Kiev and a total lack of long-term strategy are well on their way to blocking Ukraine's path to victory.

In Ukraine, people react with disbelief and irony. After a month of demonstrating in support of their favorite politician, they are now making fun of his choice of path, and the internet is flooded with mocking memes.

But the jokes are hailing in a hard time, when Russia's attacks on Ukraine have entered an intense phase, above all against the capital Kiev.