kyiv, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he believes actions taken by ousted Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, including his participation in mass protests and calling for elections, were wrong, publicly detailing their dispute for the first time. Zelenskyy also alluded to problematic decisions on defense spending and said inaccurate information provided by the Defense Ministry contributed to an awkward meeting with US President Donald Trump over Russia’s use of Starlink. Zelenskyy revealed figures showing Ukraine’s growing shortage of Patriot air defense missiles needed to counter Russian ballistic attacks, with deliveries from Western allies declining over the past three years even as Russian missile attacks intensified. However, he highlighted progress on the battlefield and said Ukrainian forces have almost completely recaptured the Dnipropetrovsk region, leaving only about 10 square kilometers under Russian control. He made the comments during a two-hour off-the-record meeting with reporters on Saturday, the transcript of which was made public on Sunday. The wide-ranging discussion included the first public comments on Fedorov’s dismissal. His comments varied widely, covering the latest developments on the battlefield, efforts to counter Russian ballistic attacks, the state of peace negotiations, Ukraine’s budget challenges, and the political turmoil surrounding Fedorov’s firing. “I really had and still have a very positive attitude towards Mykhailo. We have been through a lot together. But I think he himself goes, or is pushed, to do wrong things,” he said. Fedorov, a popular minister credited with modernizing Ukraine’s armed forces and accelerating the military’s adoption of drone technology and warfare, was ousted last month after reportedly falling out with the country’s top military commander. His dismissal sparked massive protests that lasted weeks but ultimately failed to force a reversal of the decision. Fedorov later called elections in a video speech. Zelenskyy said he had offered Fedorov four different options to continue working in the government. Fedorov, he said, rejected all four proposals. Inaccurate information caused an uncomfortable situation in the White House. Zelenskyy appeared to link Fedorov to an awkward episode involving Starlink and Elon Musk. Zelenskyy said that earlier this year the Defense Ministry had told him that SpaceX had agreed to allow Ukraine to use Starlink over Russian territory to carry out deep strike operations, subject to political approval. Acting accordingly, Zelenskyy said, he raised the issue directly with US President Donald Trump. He told Trump that Musk had confirmed the proposed use. Zelenskyy said the two sides subsequently sought confirmation from Musk and discussed financing the project. Subscribe to Morning Wire: Our flagship newsletter breaks down the day’s biggest headlines. But in a later meeting, Zelenskyy said Trump told him that Musk had rejected the proposal and accused him of misleading the US president. Musk considered the move a dangerous escalation, according to Zelenskyy. “He said that he had allegedly been deceived because Musk had denied Ukraine the use of Starlink on Russian territory. I went back to our Ministry of Defense and they told me that maybe that was the case,” he said. Zelenskyy did not explicitly accuse Fedorov of lying. He said this episode was one of the reasons behind “some of the measures.” Zelenskyy also responded to protesters’ smear of former army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, whom he fired, and current Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Yevhen Khmara, saying they had gone too far. “Maybe someone doesn’t like Syrskyi for one reason or another. But the slogans ‘Syrskyi is the devil, Khmara is the devil,'” he said. “Listen, this is too much. Do you understand? In principle, you cannot treat the military like this and tolerate it, especially when it was the military that made it possible for peaceful protests to take place in the capital of Ukraine.” Pressure on defense budget but military successes The president also described severe financial pressure on Ukraine’s defense effort. He said the Defense Ministry was facing a $27 billion budget shortfall after spending decisions earlier in the year brought forward funds originally planned for the second half of 2026. Referring to a corruption investigation that led Zelenskyy to fire one of his top officials this week, he said anti-corruption investigators do not believe the president was involved. Investigators named a deputy head of the presidential office among suspects in the money laundering case. “The heads of the anti-corruption agencies do not have any questions for me. They understand perfectly that I am not involved in any of that. And this is important for me,” he said. On the battlefield, Zelenskyy was optimistic, saying Ukraine had almost completely regained control of the Dnipropetrovsk region, leaving only about 10 square kilometers and three small villages outside Ukrainian control. He said another operation was being carried out elsewhere and its results were expected by the end of August. He also predicted that by the end of 2026 Ukraine could reach parity between the territory occupied by Russia since the beginning of the year and the territory retaken by Ukrainian forces. Zelenskyy said Russia had occupied about 990 square kilometers since the beginning of the year, while Ukraine had restored control over about 820 square kilometers. The president said Russia’s main objective remained the Konstantynivka-Sloviansk-Kramatorsk axis and that Moscow continued to demand that Ukraine withdraw from the Donbas region as a condition for a deal. Still fighting for access to Patriot missiles, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was receiving substantially fewer Patriot interceptor missiles even as Russian ballistic attacks are increasing. He said Ukraine received 675 Patriot missiles in 2023, compared with 364 in 2025 and 264 expected in 2026. Zelenskyy said he wanted to get 300 additional Patriot missiles by next winter, while the Ukrainian Air Force had requested 360. The shortfall is particularly serious because the United States and its European partners are struggling to expand production. Zelenskyy said he hoped Ukraine could get even 5% or 10% of the US reserves and be able to pay them back. Zelenskyy said Russia could eventually produce up to 1,300 ballistic missiles a year, compared with an estimated current capacity of 600. He said Ukraine was also preparing alternatives to Starlink, including a European communications project, as Russia and China work on their own competing system. In other developments, debris from a Ukrainian drone hit two industrial facilities, including a warehouse belonging to online retailer Ozon, local officials in Russia’s Orenburg region said on Sunday. In addition to moving the war to Russian soil through long-range drone attacks on oil facilities that have caused fuel shortages across Russia, Ukraine has unsettled the Russian public by attacking warehouses of online retailers, including the country’s largest online retailer, Wildberries, and competitors such as Ozon. One person was killed and six wounded in Ukrainian drone strikes in the Russian border region of Belgorod, local authorities said Sunday.
