Italy defence minister offers ousted Ukraine counterpart Fedorov adviser role

ROME, July 25 - Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said he has offered Mykhailo Fedorov, recently sacked as Ukraine's defence minister, a role as an adviser in Italy.

"I called him the day after his dismissal and said: When do you want to come to Rome and work with me as an adviser?" Crosetto told Italian daily la Repubblica in an interview published on Saturday.

Asked how Fedorov had responded, Crosetto said the former minister was "moved" and saw the offer as "a demonstration of esteem and friendship".

Crosetto praised Fedorov as a driver of military innovation, saying he was "one of those people who completely rewrote the rules of the game on the battlefield". Fedorov had helped Ukraine first resist Russia's invasion and then regain the initiative by reshaping battlefield practices through new technologies, Crossetto said.

Fedorov, a 35-year-old tech-savvy reformer credited by supporters with boosting Ukraine's drone capabilities and pushing defence-sector reforms, was ousted as defence minister this month, a move that sparked rare wartime protests in Ukraine.

He was offered alternative roles by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, but said he would not accept any other government role besides his former job. REUTERS