Mykhailo Fedorov joins IT company linked to Metinvest lawyer

New positions and suspicious links

The whereabouts of former defence minister and the country's chief digitalisation officer, Mykhailo Fedorov, raise questions. According to Opendatabot, a week ago he joined the group of co-founders of the IT company LLC "BERN AI TI".

This entity was registered in the summer of 2025. Among its beneficiaries, in addition to Fedorov, is a man whose surname, first name, and patronymic match the details of a Metinvest lawyer.

Information on a trip to the US

On 25 October, the anonymous Telegram channel "Joker" published a message claiming that former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov had allegedly left for a one-month business trip to the US. Fedorov himself has not publicly confirmed information about his departure from Ukraine.

According to the source, Fedorov has a new military exemption specifically through LLC "BERN AI TI".

Company details

LLC "BERN AI TI" is a Ukrainian IT company registered on 30 June 2025. Its authorised capital is 100,000 UAH.

• Director and beneficiary: Yevhen Mykolayovych Dadiuk.
• Founders: Yevhen Mykolayovych Dadiuk and Mykhailo Albertovych Fedorov (since 19 October 2026).
• Main activity: computer programming (UKEED 62.01).
• Additional activities: software publishing (58.29), IT consulting (62.02), equipment management (62.03), other IT activities (62.09), data processing and web portals (63.11, 63.12), other information services (63.99).

For the 2025 reporting period, the company registered revenue of 999,200 UAH and a net profit of 33,900 UAH. The firm did not participate in public procurement through the Prozorro system and operates in the commercial market. Notably, the company had only one employee in 2025.

Frequent management changes

According to YouControl, the company's head changed three times in the last 12 months. There were also four changes in the composition of founders and beneficiaries. The current head was appointed 39 days ago.

Who is Yevhen Dadiuk?

The co-owner of LLC "BERN AI TI" is Yevhen Mykolayovych Dadiuk. A person with the same full name was an assistant to a number of People's Deputies, including Volodymyr Matviyev from the banned Communist Party and Kostiantyn Zhevaho.

In addition, Yevhen Mykolayovych Dadiuk is known as a lawyer and head of the Judicial Practice and Interaction with Regulatory Authorities Department of LLC "METINVEST-HOLDING".

LLC "Metinvest Holding" belongs to Ukrainian businessman Rinat Akhmetov (through the SCM group, which holds the majority stake of 71.24%). A minority shareholder was previously Vadym Novynskyi (Smart-Holding — 23.76%, whose shares are under seizure).

Critically important enterprise status

The status of a critically important enterprise for LLC "BERN AI TI" (EDRPOU code 46007651) is not officially confirmed in open state registers, as lists of such companies are closed for security reasons. However, given its profile, the company has a high chance of obtaining or already having this status.

A separate procedure applies to the IT sector in Ukraine through the Ministry of Digital Transformation or residency status in Diia.City. A company may be recognised as critically important if it meets basic government criteria:

• The average salary of employees exceeds the established minimum (over 21,617 UAH).
• No arrears in tax payments and Unified Social Contribution.
• The company has strategic importance for digital infrastructure or economic support.

Awaiting a response

To clarify whether LLC "BERN AI TI" has the status of a critically important enterprise with the right to exempt employees, whether Mykhailo Fedorov received an exemption and on what grounds, and whether the company sent him on a business trip to the US, the editorial team has prepared a relevant information request. We are awaiting a response and will continue to monitor this story.