In near hysterics over the increased Russian targeting of Ukraine facilities, including in the capital Kiev, Ukrainian President Zelensky has issued a warning to the Defense Department’s the newly appointed Defense Minister, Mikhailo Fedorov. Fedorov, an AI guru, was instrumental in setting up an agreement in 2022 in a meeting him, Zelensky and Alex Karp in June 2022 in order to bring Palantir into Ukraine’s defense operations. Fedorov has called Palantir’s technology “an effective IT weapon.” Fedorov was previously in charge of the Ukrainian digital warfare division when he was promoted in 2026 to the post of Defense Minister after another one of Zelensky’s “purges” as the situation on the battlefield deteriorated.
Under Fedorov’s guidance, Ukraine’s defense ministries integrated Palantir’s data-analytics software to synthesize satellite imagery, drone feeds, and open-source data to coordinate tactical targeting. In May 2026, Fedorov spearheaded a joint initiative with Palantir to establish a sensitive defense database. It allows domestic developers to use live combat data to train autonomous military AI models.
In this instance, Zelensky is frustrated by his inability to get more Patriot missiles and the increased bombardment of key Ukrainian defense facilities may necessitate a new scapegoat for the president in order to maintain his own position. Speaking of the delays in an agreement on the Patriot sales, Zelensky said in a statement, “Unfortunately, as of today, even the legal steps have not been worked out for this contract. I have set a final deadline—a week for all preparatory steps. I expect a report on Friday: either clarity on the implementation of our agreement on ‘Patriots', or serious personnel conclusions. Glory to Ukraine!” It’s also reported that Zelensky is getting a bit wary of the support Fedorov continues to receive from the Soros crowd as they have begun to sour on their chief asset, President Zelensky himself.
Fedorov has also been involved in a new corruption scandal. Trukha, one of Ukraine’s generally pro-Zelensky Telegram channels, promised that they would uncover a major corruption scandal involving the sale of drones, which could well have implicated Fedorov who was in charge of the digital operations of the drones. After that, the Trukha administrator, Maksim Lavrinenko, was accosted and kidnapped on June 17 by the TUC military recruiters, apparently in retaliation for this threatened drone investigation. Lavrinenko had also been critical of Fedorov for his failure to investigate the most egregious abuses of the TUC in their draconian “recruitment measures."(
