Thousands of people demonstrated Friday evening July 17 in kyiv against the dismissal of popular Defense Minister Mykhaïlo Fedorov, decided by President Volodymyr Zelensky as part of a government reshuffle which created divisions.
Gathered for the second consecutive day in the Ukrainian capital, the demonstrators waved Ukrainian flags and signs, noted an AFP journalist.
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“Return Fedorov!”, could be read on one of these, while another invited to “respect and consider the people”. A third denounced “self-sabotage”.
Young reformer and champion of high technologies on the battlefield, Mykhaïlo Fedorov announced his resignation on Wednesday, less than six months after taking up his duties at the head of the Ministry of Defense.
Divisions within the military hierarchy
Popular with the population and appreciated by Ukraine’s Western allies, Mykhaïlo Fedorov explained that he came into conflict with the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Oleksandr Syrsky, who favors a more traditional approach to military operations.
Volodymyr Zelensky gave few explanations for his decision to replace Mykhailo Fedorov but said he wanted to preserve the “unity” of the military command in the midst of war with Russia.
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Mykhaïlo Fedorov was replaced on an interim basis by Yevgen Khmara, a discreet official of the Ukrainian security services (SBU) unknown in politics. Parliament has yet to decide on these changes but no session has yet been scheduled.
More than 1,000 people had already demonstrated on Thursday in kyiv and other cities in Ukraine to demand the return of Mykhaïlo Fedorov.
His departure also revealed signs of divisions within the Ukrainian military hierarchy over the conduct of operations, more than four years after the start of the Russian invasion.
With AFP
