Volodymyr Zelenskyy was under growing pressure to reinstate his sacked defence minister on Wednesday, after campaigners said they would continue indefinite nationwide protests until Mykhailo Fedorov got his job back. The standoff threatens to deepen Ukraine’s political crisis just as the country ramps up its long-range drone campaign inside Russia.
On Tuesday, Zelenskyy bowed to public demands by firing Ukraine’s commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, appointing General Mykhailo Drapatyi as the new head of the country’s armed forces in a radical reshuffle of top military command. But his attempts to defuse popular anger by offering Fedorov a new government role have so far failed. Fedorov has reportedly turned down the post of deputy prime minister for technological development, insisting on being reinstated as defence minister – arguing it is the only way to implement his ambitious plan for modernising and reforming Ukraine’s army.
“Zelenskyy faces renewed protests as sacked defence minister Fedorov refuses deputy PM role, demanding reinstatement.”
The post is no longer vacant: Zelenskyy appointed special forces commander Yevhenii Khmara as acting minister. Yet protesters have vowed to keep up their campaign. Prominent veteran Dmytro Koziatynsky announced a rally for Friday evening outside Zelenskyy’s presidential office in Ivana Franka Square, Kyiv. “We should not forget about the second demand of the protest – to return Mykhailo Fedorov to the position of minister of defence,” Koziatynsky wrote on social media. He added: “We must do everything possible to ensure that the government hears and satisfies all the demands of society.”
One senior army source told the Guardian that Zelenskyy faced a major dilemma. “If he reverses his decision, this would be a big victory for Fedorov. It would be humiliating for the president and reveal him to be weak. But if he doesn’t, the protests will keep going,” they said.
Supporters of Drapatyi say he is the innovative commander Ukraine needs for the next phase of the conflict, as Kyiv’s unmanned systems forces have carried out a series of long and mid-range strikes on Russian territory, as well as on occupied southern Ukraine and Crimea. Targets have included oil refineries, military depots, ships and oil tankers in the Sea of Azov and Black Sea. But the political upheaval risks overshadowing those military gains, with Fedorov’s fate now a test of Zelenskyy’s authority.