Protests erupt in Kyiv after Zelenskyy ousts defense chief Fedorov

Crowds filled central Kyiv on Thursday after Volodymyr Zelenskyy removed Mykhailo Fedorov, the 35-year-old defense chief who had held the post for about six months. The dismissal triggered an immediate and unusually visible domestic backlash, with senior figures announcing resignations as lawmakers prepared to vote on a new wartime government.

Demonstrators gathered in downtown Kyiv and in Lviv, Dnipro, Kharkiv and Odesa, with turnout reported in the hundreds and, in some accounts, more than 1,000. In Kyiv, protesters waved Ukrainian and EU flags and chanted, “Bring Fedorov back,” “Syrskyy go away!” and “A European army for a European country!” The protests also carried crude insults aimed at Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, reflecting anger not only at the personnel change but at the circle of officials behind it.

Fedorov had built a reputation as a reformer and modernizer inside Ukraine’s wartime state. He was credited with helping expand drone warfare, streamline procurement and push a technology overhaul across the armed forces, changes that supporters said improved battlefield performance at a critical point in the war. Analysts and officials pointed to friction between Fedorov and Syrskyi, including disputes over army command and failed mobilization reform, as the likely backdrop to the decision.

The reshuffle came as lawmakers were preparing to back a new wartime government led by energy executive Sergii Koretskyi, with Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko widely reported as the likely replacement for Fedorov. Reuters described the move as Zelenskyy’s second cabinet shake-up in a year, underscoring how sensitive the change was at a moment when Ukraine remains under pressure from Russia’s full-scale invasion, which began on February 24, 2022. Zelenskyy did not publicly explain the dismissal when Fedorov confirmed his departure on social media late Wednesday.

The political cost for Zelenskyy was sharpened by memory of last summer’s reversal, when he was forced to retreat in July 2025 after major street protests over a law that weakened anti-corruption watchdogs. That episode was the first major test of his wartime authority after the invasion, and the uproar over Fedorov suggests that public tolerance for decisions seen as concentrated inside the presidential circle remains limited even during war.