Ukraine’s wartime government shaken by defence minister’s dismissal and mass protests
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s removal of Mykhailo Fedorov has triggered calls for his reappointment and the resignation of a senior air force commander, casting uncertainty over Ukraine’s defence strategy at a critical juncture in the conflict.
Rare wartime protests have erupted across Ukraine, with demonstrators gathering in Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, and Dnipro to oppose the dismissal of Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. In the capital, more than 1,000 people assembled in a central square on Thursday morning, waving Ukrainian and European Union flags while chanting slogans demanding Fedorov’s return. The unrest follows President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to remove Fedorov from office late on Wednesday as part of a broader government reshuffle that also saw the prime minister removed.
Fedorov, who was appointed only six months ago, announced his stepping down by describing it as a "great honour to serve the Ukrainian people". No official reason was provided for the dismissal, though observers and protesters have characterised the move as a consequence of internal infighting within the military establishment, specifically between Fedorov and Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky. The sudden change in leadership has introduced uncertainty into the army’s operations at a time when Ukraine is reportedly in one of its strongest positions in months, having halted the Russian advance and conducted significant long-range drone strikes against Russian oil and military infrastructure.
The political fallout has extended beyond the streets, affecting the military’s senior command structure. Pavlo Yelizarov, the deputy commander of the air force, resigned in protest of the leadership changes. In his statement, Yelizarov cited a commitment to operational effectiveness over internal politics, stating he joined the defence forces "to win, not to pretend to be doing something". He described working with Fedorov as a "great honour", underscoring the depth of the discontent among senior officers regarding the reshuffle.
Public sentiment appears sharply divided from the official narrative. Vlada Roman, a 30-year-old business owner in Kyiv, told AFP that she believed Zelensky was "afraid of effective people" and viewed the dismissal as a "slap in the face of the Ukrainian people". Roman expressed hope that the scale of the rally would persuade the president to reverse the decision, reflecting a broader anxiety among citizens that Fedorov, widely seen as a moderniser attempting to reform a war-weary military, was being sidelined.
As of Thursday, President Zelensky had not named a successor to Fedorov. The absence of a clear replacement strategy, combined with the resignation of a high-ranking air force official and the emergence of coordinated protests in multiple major cities, suggests significant turbulence within Ukraine’s governance apparatus. The events mark a rare instance of public dissent during the ongoing conflict, highlighting the fragility of the current political-military alignment.
