Ukraine's defence chief takes advisory post in Italy, signalling Alpine security shift

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's ousted defence minister, has accepted a position as adviser to Italy's defence minister, Politico Europe reported on Friday. Fedorov's move comes weeks after his dramatic break with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose decision to remove him last month prompted rare wartime protests in Kyiv. The appointment signals a shift in how Italy is positioning itself within the broader architecture of European security, particularly along its northeastern border and the Alpine corridor that connects the peninsula to Central Europe.

Fedorov's role reflects Italy's attempt to deepen its engagement with Ukrainian expertise at a moment when the war's trajectory and Europe's strategic dependencies are in flux. According to Politico, his appointment comes as Italy's government seeks to strengthen its voice in defence and innovation policy within the EU and NATO. The advisory position places a figure with direct experience of wartime decision-making and weapons procurement within Italy's defence establishment at a time when logistics, supply chains and military cooperation with the Balkans and Central Europe are reshaping the continent's security calculus.