Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky handed a key role to Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov after the Russian-Ukrainian war broke out last month.

Zelensky and Fedorov (right)

Fedorov, 31, is the youngest member of Zelensky’s cabinet. He immediately grabbed a plan of operations paralleling the armed Ukrainian confrontation with Russia.He launched a campaign to garner the support of multinational corporations to cut Russia off the world economy and cut the country off from the global internet, aiming to rebuild the iPhonePlayStation to Western Union transfers, PayPal, all products and services available in Russia.

To achieve isolation from Russia, the former tech entrepreneur used a mix of social media, cryptocurrencies and other digital tools. On Twitter and other social media, he pressured Apple, Google, Netflix, Intel, PayPal and others to stop doing business in Russia. He helped form a volunteer group of hackers to wreak havoc on Russian websites and online services. His department also set up a cryptocurrency fund that raised more than $60 million for the Ukrainian military.

This work made Fedorov one of Zelensky’s most high-profile aides, deploying technology and finance as weapons of modern warfare. In effect, Fedorov is creating a new set of tactics for military conflict, showing how an underarmed country can use the internet, encryption, digital activism and frequent tweets to help weaken a foreign aggressor.

digital blockade

Fedorov gave his first in-depth interview since the Russian-Ukrainian war broke out on February 24. Fedorov said his goal was to create a “digital blockade” that would make life so uncomfortable and inconvenient for Russian citizens that they would question the war. He praised companies pulling out of Russia, but said Apple, Google and others could take further steps, such as cutting off app stores in Russia altogether.

He said technological and commercial blockades “are integral to preventing aggression”.

Fedorov, who spoke via videoconferencing software from an undisclosed location near Kyiv, also denied concerns. There are fears that his actions are alienating Russian city dwellers who may be most likely to oppose the conflict.

“We believe that as long as the Russians remain silent, they are complicit in aggression and murder of our people,” he said.

Fedorov makes good use of social media

Fedorov’s work isn’t the only reason why multinationals like Meta and McDonald’s are pulling out of Russia, and the casualties of the war have sparked fear and anger. Economic sanctions by the United States, the European Union and other countries have played an important role in isolating Russia.

Still, Peter Singer, a professor at Arizona State University’s Center for the Study of Future Warfare, said Fedorov was “very effective” in calling for companies to reconsider their ties to Russia.

“No celebrity, let alone a country, can more effectively mock corporate brands and shame them into taking ethical action than Ukraine. If there is such a thing as ‘cancel culture’, Ukrainians can claim it’s at war honed,” Singh said. Cancellation culture refers to boycotts, especially those initiated online.

Fedorov gave a 45-minute interview via Zoom. Wearing a loose grey wool coat with black zippers, he sat in front of a paneled wall. He says he sleeps three to four hours a night, often waking up every 30 minutes or so by an alarm from his iPhone by his bedside. Fedorov said he was always worried about his father. His father has been in intensive care for the past week after a missile hit the house next door.

“I have experienced this fear,” he said, “and this war has knocked on my door in person.”

Fedorov grew up in Vasilevka, a small town near the Dnieper River in southern Ukraine. Before entering politics, he started a digital marketing company called SMMSTUDIO, specializing in designing online advertising campaigns.

This experience led him to an opportunity to work for Zelensky in 2018. Zelensky, who was an actor at the time, made a surprise announcement that he was running for the Ukrainian presidency. Fedorov, who became the campaign’s digital director, used social media to paint Zelensky as a young symbol of change.

Pressure Apple, Google

After being elected Ukraine’s president in 2019, Zelensky appointed Fedorov, then 28, as minister of digital transformation, putting him in charge of digitizing Ukraine’s social services. With a government app, people can pay speeding tickets or manage their taxes. Last year, Fedorov visited Silicon Valley and met with some tech leaders, including Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Fedorov and Cook

Immediately after Russia launched its military campaign against Ukraine, Fedorov pressured tech companies to withdraw from Russia. Fedorov said he made the decision with the support of Zelensky and the two talk every day.

“I think the choice is black and white,” Fedorov said. “It’s time to take sides, either peace or terror and murder.”

Fedorov asks Cook to stop offering App Store to Russians

On February 25, he wrote to Apple, Google and Netflix, asking them to restrict the use of their services in Russia. Less than a week later, Apple stopped selling new iPhones and other products in Russia.

Text Musk

The next day, Fedorov sent a tweet to Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, asking for help with SpaceX’s “Starlink” satellite internet system. This technology could help Ukrainians stay online even if Russia disrupts Ukraine’s main telecommunications infrastructure. Two days after contacting Musk, a batch of Starlink equipment sent by SpaceX arrived in Ukraine.

Since then, Fedorov said, he has regularly texted with Musk.

Fedorov also had a phone call with Google Vice President Karan Bhatia last month. Google has since made several adjustments, including restricting access to certain features of Google Maps. These features are a security risk because they could help Russian soldiers identify crowds, Fedorov said. Google has since suspended sales of other products and services and blocked global access to Russian state media on YouTube on Friday.

Fedorov asks Musk for help via Twitter

Fedorov also had an email exchange with Nick Clegg, Meta’s head of global affairs, about the ongoing war. Meta is the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.

Apple, Google and Meta declined to comment. Musk has not responded to a request for comment.

Public shaming has always been effective, Fedorov said, because companies are “emotional and rational in their decision-making.” However, he also noted that while many companies have stopped doing business in Russia, there is more they can do. Fedorov said Apple and Google should pull their app stores out of Russia, where many Russian companies also use software developed by companies such as SAP.

In many cases, the Russian government is also cutting itself off from the world, including blocking Twitter and Facebook. On Friday, Russian regulators said they would also restrict users’ access to Instagram, calling Meta an “extremist” group.

Negative effects

Some civil society groups have questioned whether Fedorov’s tactics will have unintended consequences. “Blockades can be used for tyranny, not democracy,” the Internet Protection Society, a Russian internet freedom group, said in a statement earlier this week. Any sanctions that undermine the Russian people’s access to information will only strengthen Putin’s regime. “

Fedorov said this was the only way to get the Russian people to act. He praised the work of pro-Ukrainian hackers who have been working loosely with the Ukrainian government to target Russian targets.

“After cruise missiles started flying over my house and many other Ukrainians and a lot of things started exploding, we decided to fight back,” he said.

Max Chernikov is a software engineer who supports a volunteer group called “Ukrainian IT Army”. He said Fedorov’s work showed Ukraine’s “whatever it takes” approach to the larger Russian military. “He acted like every Ukrainian – gave his best,” Chernikov said.

Fedorov also has a wife and a young daughter. He said he remained hopeful about the outcome of the war.

“The truth is on our side,” he added. “I am sure we will win this war.”