Main points
- Oleksandr Bornyakov has been appointed acting Minister of Digital Transformation, ensuring seamless management of the Ministry of Digital Affairs after Mykhailo Fedorov's transition to the Ministry of Defense.
- The Ministry of Digital Affairs continues to integrate artificial intelligence into government processes, developing projects such as Action.AI and AI Factory for the state and defense.
- 1 What is known about the temporary status of Minister Bornyakov?
- 2 What will the Ministry of Digital Affairs be like after Fedorov?
- 3 Does Fedorov still have influence over the ministry?
- 4 Will the Ministry of Digital Economy become a fully civilian ministry?
- 1 What is known about the temporary status of Minister Bornyakov?
- 2 What will the Ministry of Digital Affairs be like after Fedorov?
- 3 Does Fedorov still have influence over the ministry?
- 4 Will the Ministry of Digital Economy become a fully civilian ministry?
Mykhailo Fedorov left for the Ministry of Defense, but the Ministry of Digital Affairs continued to operate in a continuous mode. On January 14, the Cabinet of Ministers appointed Oleksandr Bornyakov as the Acting Minister of Digital Transformation. This decision is intended to ensure that the pace and continuation of already launched initiatives are maintained without any pauses in management.
Bornyakov is not a random temporary manager, but one of those who built the Ministry of Digital Affairs together with Fedorov from the moment of its creation. Since October 2019, he has worked as a deputy minister: he was responsible for the development of key projects – Diia.City, cooperation with business, European integration, artificial intelligence.
The very fact of the temporary status of the head of the ministry has a legal connotation, but from a management point of view it is a guarantee of seamlessness. After all, Bornyakov is not a new person who needs time to adapt, but an insider with extensive expertise and access to already developed OKRs and strategies. This logic explains why the government chose an internal candidate to avoid managerial pauses.
Ahead are issues of scale: maintaining the stability of infrastructures (registries, communication, Action), accelerating the implementation of AI, and further integration with the EU's single digital market. 24 Channel spoke for the first time with Oleksandr Bornyakov about his new position, the future of the Ministry of Digital Affairs, and the influence of Mykhailo Fedorov.
What is known about the temporary status of Minister Bornyakov?
Oleksandr Bornyakov became “temporarily acting” rather than simply a minister. This simplifies certain procedures, but it may seem that one of the most powerful ministries has “hanged.”
Oleksandr Bornyakov
Acting Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine
For me, this status is primarily a responsibility to maintain the pace. I am not a “new person” who needs time to adapt. As one of the architects of the Ministry of Digital Projects, I know the logic of every process, law, and direction, because we have been building this ecosystem together with Mykhailo and the team from day one.
Regarding “expectations”, there is a managerial logic. The Ministry of Digital Affairs today is a stable institution, not a startup. My task now is to ensure seamless processes. The team of deputies has been formed, OKRs have been defined, the WINWIN Innovation Strategy has been approved. We do not waste time on “transferring cases”, but simply continue to implement the plan. For me, only the scale of decisions has changed.
Alexander Bornyakov / Photo from social networks
The status of “t. v. o.” is a legal term that has limited impact on powers, says Bornyakov.
However, this did not affect the efficiency of the Ministry of Digital Affairs and the team: “We have been working according to the OKR system for a long time, I know the processes well, but there are areas that need to be delved into more deeply.”
Oleksandr Bornyakov
Acting Minister of Digital Transformation
A country at war has no time for managerial pauses or “castings.” Today's digital state is a critical infrastructure: from stable communications, the operation of registries and services for millions of citizens to the functioning of the economy and defense systems.
Therefore, the decision was made to transfer management to me, as a member of the team, in order not to lose momentum and ensure continuity of work. I have a vision for the development of the Ministry of Digital, and from now on everything will be determined by the results.
What will the Ministry of Digital Affairs be like after Fedorov?
The question arises whether the Ministry of Digital Economy will become a more “regular” ministry now that Mykhailo Fedorov has left. But, according to Bornyakov, the Ministry of Digital Economy has never been a classic ministry and will not become one .
Oleksandr Bornyakov
Acting Minister of Digital Transformation
We built this ministry on the principles of an IT company, not a bureaucratic institution, and this code can no longer be “erased.” We set the world standard: the first digital passports, the fastest business registration, online marriage. The world is studying our experience.
Now we are raising the bar even higher. The Ministry of Digital is moving to the level of building an Agentic State – a state where artificial intelligence itself offers services, and does not wait for a citizen's application. My priorities are Ukraine's accession to the EU's Single Digital Market, the development of the digital economy and an ecosystem for innovation – robotics, bioTech, semiconductors and other areas within the framework of the WINWIN Innovation Strategy. Ordinary ministries do not deal with such things.
The future of Ukraine is technology and innovation, Bornyakov emphasizes, and his vision is to transform Ukraine into an agentic state, where the state works for people quickly, transparently, and as automated as possible. “ I really believe: we have the potential to become one of the world leaders in the field of artificial intelligence and do truly revolutionary things. In just a year, we have risen 13 places in the world ranking in AI, and this is just the beginning,” says the acting head of the Ministry of Digital Affairs.
The Ministry of Digital Affairs is already integrating artificial intelligence into government processes, and there are results. A year ago, the WINWIN AI Center of Excellence was launched, and during this time it has already:
- They presented Diya.AI, the world's first national AI assistant that provides government services. It has been used by over 200,000 Ukrainians.
- We started a partnership with ElevenLabs to enable voice requests in Action.
- A national LLM (large language model for artificial intelligence) is being developed – currently at the data collection and preparation stage, with the participation of about 50 government agencies, media, universities, and specialized communities.
- AI Factory is being built using NVIDIA technologies – a modern infrastructure for the development of AI for the state and defense.
Alexander Bornyakov / Photo from social networks
We will change the approach to how the state works: even more services will become automatic, transparent, fast. In 2026, we plan to significantly expand the use of AI in education, the public sector and defense, as well as introduce an AI assistant in the Diyi application. AI allows you to scale without unnecessary costs, quickly respond to challenges and create comfortable conditions for citizens and technology businesses. This is what we will focus on,
– adds Bornyakov.
Does Fedorov still have influence over the ministry?
It is not difficult to assume that Mykhailo Fedorov will continue to have influence over the Ministry of Digital Economy. But Bornyakov says that he would not call this influence, but strategic synergy.
Oleksandr Bornyakov
Acting Minister of Digital Transformation
Mykhailo is scaling the digital experience of victories already at the level of the Ministry of Defense. We at the Ministry of Digital Affairs remain the main technological partner of this process. We have joint ecosystem projects – for example, Brave1, which requires synchronization of actions of two ministries. Previously, we did this within the framework of one team, now — within the framework of the government.
As for the operational management of the Ministry of Digital, this is my area of responsibility. Decisions on personnel policy, new services in the Action, and the development of other ecosystem projects are made here, in the Ministry of Digital. We are an autonomous institution, but we play on the same team as the Ministry of Defense.
Will the Ministry of Digital Affairs become a fully civilian ministry?
Under Mykhailo Fedorov, the Ministry of Digital Affairs has taken on functions that are atypical for a civilian ministry, in particular, those related to drones and the military. These are the realities of wartime. Bornyakov answers the question of whether the Ministry of Digital Affairs will remain the same without Fedorov.
Oleksandr Bornyakov
Acting Minister of Digital Transformation
I think that no ministry in Ukraine can be purely “civilian” right now. The country is at war. In our case, digital services that seem routine are becoming critically important for the life and security of the state. For example, in 2022, we launched the chatbot eVorog, which allows citizens to promptly notify the Defense Forces about the movement of the enemy. For the Ministry of Digital, a priority is stable communication and the Internet in any conditions. Despite constant shelling, the telecom has survived. Since the beginning of a full-scale war, Ukrainians have remained online and in touch, and our team has been systematically working on this.
All decisions of the Ministry of Digital Affairs are related not only to the comfort of citizens or businesses, but also to ensuring that the state works quickly, reliably and can respond to challenges in real time. Today, digitalization in Ukraine is a strategic tool that supports the state and its defense capability. For example, together with the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, we are working on the implementation of a whitelist regime that will allow only verified Starlink terminals to operate on the territory of Ukraine. This is a quick response in a matter of days to the use of Starlink by the enemy, because enemy drones equipped with a terminal are difficult to destroy.
In parallel, the Ministry of Digital Affairs will continue to develop Brave1, which has become the largest angel investor in Ukrainian DefenseTech, Bornyakov emphasizes.
After all, the focus today is on artificial intelligence, missiles, and other technologies, the priority of which is determined by the Ministry of Digital Affairs together with the units of the Ministry of Defense.