Protests in Ukraine against Zelensky's dismissal of Defense Minister

Image caption, Protesters gathered in central Kyiv on Thursday morning

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Author, Laura Gozzi, Anastasia Levchenko, Sarah RainsfordRole, BBC News

Published 1 hour ago

Reading time: 4 minutes

Several Ukrainian cities are witnessing protests against President Volodymyr Zelensky's sudden decision to dismiss the popular Defense Minister, Mykhailo Fedorov.

A crowd of people, mostly young, gathered in the capital Kyiv, holding signs reading "Leave Fedorov alone" and "Enough sabotage of victory!", and chanted "Shame on you!"

Zelensky has not yet provided an explanation for his decision, which has caused widespread discontent among commentators, military personnel, and some civil society sectors.

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Fedorov, 35, was only appointed last January, but is credited with revitalizing the ministry, leading an anti-corruption campaign, and using data to analyze frontline performance and attempt to improve it.

Lawmakers were scheduled to vote on Thursday on the appointment of Ihor Klymenko, the candidate to succeed the current Defense Minister, who currently serves as Minister of Internal Affairs.

As part of the cabinet reshuffle carried out by Zelensky, parliament approved the appointment of Serhiy Koretsky, the head of the state oil and gas company, as Prime Minister, following the resignation of Yulia Svyrydenko earlier this week.

There have been rumors that the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov is linked to tensions between him and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrsky.

At a press conference on Thursday, Fedorov implicitly confirmed this, saying he proposed to Zelensky to replace Syrsky and the Chief of the General Staff, Andriy Hnatov.

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Fedorov said: "When the president said he did not intend to replace Syrsky, I said I would learn to work with him." But he added: "All the initiatives we proposed were met with rejection."

Fedorov said of Syrsky: "Instead of finding a way to defeat Russia in an unconventional way - which is supposed to be the core of the work of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces - he found a way to divide our country."

Fedorov also revealed that Zelensky offered him to stay on his team as an advisor, but he refused.

He explained that he was not seeking to provoke the president, saying he was "confident" that Zelensky "listens to the Ukrainian people, knows what to do, and the situation will be resolved 100 percent."

He added: "I do not think he has made up his mind about Syrsky yet. I spoke with him today and told him that I am acting according to my conscience."

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Image caption, Before joining the government, Mykhailo Fedorov founded the volunteer "Ukrainian IT Army"

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Oleksandr, a Ukrainian soldier, told the BBC: "This is the worst mistake Zelensky has made during his entire presidency."

He added that he joined the army earlier this year because of his confidence in Fedorov's team and vision, saying: "I don't know anyone who supports the decision to replace him, neither inside the army nor in society."

Maria Lavrinets, 31, told the BBC during a protest in Ivan Franko Square in central Kyiv: "I have many friends in the army, and many of them have died. I don't want this situation to continue. We see Fedorov's results, we see the soldiers' enthusiasm, and we must support them."

Zelensky, responding to a request to comment on the protests, said: "People wanted to go out into the streets, and that is their right. I understand that, I hear what society is saying, and I even react to it."

When he took office, Fedorov began restructuring the Defense Ministry, which many in Ukraine see as mired in bureaucracy and old Soviet-era mindsets.

Fedorov, the former Minister of Digital Transformation, has been active since the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion of his country in 2022, founding the volunteer "Ukrainian IT Army" to launch cyberattacks against the Russians.

Later, he led a successful fundraising campaign called "Army of Drones," and introduced elements of "gamification" into the war, designing a system that grants Ukrainian military units points for targeting Russian objectives.

Gamification is the integration of game mechanics and elements - such as points, levels, leaderboards, and rewards - into non-entertainment contexts, such as healthcare, financial services, and employee productivity improvement.

Image caption, Protesters held signs denouncing Zelensky's decision to dismiss Fedorov

Fedorov maintained his focus on drones, high-tech warfare, and procurement after becoming Defense Minister.

At the start of his tenure, he also asked Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, to prevent Russia from using Starlink satellites in drone attacks, a move that caused significant disruption to Russian operations on the front lines and their advance.

His administration also played a major role in recent Ukrainian strikes on the Moscow-occupied Crimean peninsula, which Fedorov last month vowed to completely "isolate" from Russia using medium-range drone strikes.

In a Facebook post following his dismissal, Fedorov listed his achievements and said he would continue "to defeat the enemy with unconventional methods, speed of innovation, and organizational strength."

Prominent blogger Serhiy Sternenko, whom Fedorov had hired as an advisor, praised his former boss as "the best Defense Minister in our history" and criticized the "bureaucratic obstacles and artificial delays" that he said prevented deeper reforms.

Another former advisor, a tech expert known as "Flash," said working on Fedorov's team was "an honor."

He added: "I had access to various systems and could analyze our enemy's movements and predict their next steps. I will no longer be able to do that."

Pavlo Yelizarov, a famous drone unit commander, resigned from his post as deputy commander of the Ukrainian Air Force in protest of Fedorov's dismissal, which he described as "a great evil for the country's defensive capabilities."

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