Thousands gathered in Kyiv on Friday to demonstrate against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s dismissal of popular defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov, part of a contentious reshuffle.
Protesters, many waving Ukrainian flags and holding placards supporting Fedorov, assembled in the capital for a second consecutive day, an AFP journalist reported.
During his brief six-month tenure, Fedorov frequently clashed with the army’s top commander over efforts to digitize and modernize a military weary after four years of resisting the Russian invasion.
The day after resigning under pressure, Fedorov accused Ukraine’s commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky of sowing division within the country.
He criticized bureaucratic inefficiencies and inflexibility, questioning Ukraine’s ability to defeat Russia under Syrsky’s leadership.
President Zelensky lamented that the two sides were barely communicating.
“A wartime president should not face such choices,” Zelensky said. “I very much desire unity.”
Cover image: Demonstrators protest against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to replace Mykhailo Fedorov as defense minister, July 16, 2026. © Reuters, Thomas Peter 
Following Fedorov’s removal, Zelensky announced on Thursday the appointment of Yevgeniy Khmara, head of Ukraine’s SBU security service, as acting defense minister.
By Thursday, approximately a thousand demonstrators had gathered in Kyiv to protest Fedorov’s removal, with protests also occurring in other cities.
During his tenure as defense minister, Fedorov increased military salaries, announced plans for partial demobilization, and introduced gamified reward systems for units that achieved the highest number of Russian soldier casualties.
However, Fedorov, who lacks military service experience, repeatedly clashed with the military command’s traditional approach.
Even prior to becoming defense chief, Fedorov spent the war promoting advanced technologies like drones to offset Ukraine’s shortages in manpower, funds, and ammunition.
A June 2026 poll by the Kyiv Institute of Sociology placed Fedorov among Ukraine’s most trusted public figures.
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