New Delhi: Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, dismissed the his defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, on Wednesday, triggering protests in Kyiv and several other cities. It was part of the fourth major government reshuffle since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, and Fedorov had held the post for just six months.
The move came days after Ukraine’s parliament accepted the resignation of the prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko. It also followed Zelenskyy’s announcement on Sunday that Ukraine was “changing its political strategy”, with each foreign policy priority to be assigned to a specific, experienced official.
Zelenskyy cited an unresolved conflict between Fedorov and Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, as the reason behind the dismissal. Speaking at a news conference, he said he was “just showing that if the sides can’t resolve an issue, I will have to resolve it.”
More than a thousand people gathered in Kyiv’s central square on Thursday, waving Ukrainian and EU flags and reportedly chanting “shame” and calls for Fedorov’s reinstatement.
War veteran Dmytro Koziatynskyi, who had organized nationwide protests last year, urged people to demonstrate against what he called constant government reshuffles. Daria Kaleniuk of the Anti-Corruption Action Centre, a Kyiv-based watchdog, also said she planned to join the protests.
The acting head of Ukraine’s security service, Yevhen Khmara, has been named acting defence minister following Fedorov’s dismissal.
Fedorov, 35, a former tech entrepreneur, previously served as Ukraine’s digital transformation minister. He was widely credited with driving Ukraine’s drone warfare programme during his time as defence minister.
He confirmed his dismissal in a social media post on Wednesday, listing achievements from his tenure, including the shutdown of Russian military access to Starlink systems, the isolation of occupied Crimea, and what he called an “unpopular but extremely important transformation of the army.”
Defence experts have credited his drone-focused approach with helping stall Russian momentum, though some have warned that Ukraine’s deep-strike campaign against Russian territory has also raised the risk of escalation.
Ukraine’s parliament speaker, Ruslan Stefanchuk, said Serhiy Koretsky, chief executive of state-owned energy company Naftogaz, has been nominated as the country’s next prime minister.