Thousands of Ukrainians are back on the streets of Kyiv and other cities, protesting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s dismissal of popular Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov as part of a larger government reshuffle.
Fedorov, 35, had been in his job for only six months but had achieved real progress on the security front in Ukraine’s defense against the war that Russia started. Successes included convincing Elon Musk’s Starlink to cut off Russian access to the vital network, without which Russian forces were more vulnerable to Ukrainian targeting. He reordered ministry spending priorities to invest more heavily in midstrike capabilities, low-cost reconnaissance, ground robotic platforms, interceptor drones, and deep-strike drones.
Fedorov launched long-needed reforms in the military and defense sector and started rooting out corrupt deals involving certain military contractors, and this may have been a factor in his dismissal.
The result has been a turnaround in the situation for Ukraine, which is now inflicting massive losses on Russian troops. Ukraine has taken out more than 100 ships in the Sea of Azov and damaged or destroyed dozens of military and energy facilities deep inside Russian territory, exacerbating Russia’s economic difficulties. Fedorov shares credit for this progress with the brave men and women fighting for Ukraine’s freedom.
Today’s protests over Fedorov’s firing echo others held a year ago, when Ukrainians successfully demanded that Zelenskyy reverse himself on legislation that would have significantly neutered various anti-corruption bodies. Legislation introduced within days restored the anti-corruption agencies’ autonomy, and the demonstrators returned home, satisfied their efforts had paid off. Zelenskyy should once again heed the latest protests.
Fedorov reportedly clashed with the Ukrainian Gen. Oleksandr Syrskiy, 60, whom Zelenskyy picked more than two years ago to be commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Syrskiy’s reputation both among Ukrainian troops and the wider population pales in comparison with the much younger Fedorov’s.
Fedorov’s poll ratings were on the rise, even though he hadn’t indicated serious political ambitions, and some in Zelenskyy’s circle may have viewed him shortsightedly as a political and electoral threat.
On Thursday, Fedorov didn’t hold back in criticizing Syrskiy. “Instead of figuring out how to defeat Russia asymmetrically,” Fedorov told a news conference, Syrskyi “figured out how to split the country.” He accused Syrskiy of “blocking all of our initiatives.”
The deputy commander of Ukraine’s Air Force, Pavlo Yelizarov, resigned over Fedorov’s dismissal. Dmytro Koziatynskyi, a war veteran who was a leading organizer of last summer’s mass protests against the law curbing the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies, has called for a new demonstration.
“The defense minister is being removed in the middle of effective – finally effective! – reforms, replaced by someone under whom any hope of reform can be forgotten,” Koziatynskyi wrote on Facebook, as reported by the Kyiv Independent.
The pro-war blogger community in Russia, by contrast, welcomed Fedorov’s dismissal. “Overall, it’s very good that Zelenskyy removed him from command of the army. He’s an extremely smart and effective enemy. Now things should be easier,” wrote Z-blogger Oleksiy Zhivov.
This latest controversy – an “own goal,” if you will in this time of the World Cup – couldn’t have come at a worse time. Ukraine has seized the momentum in the war, which Russia launched in a full-scale manner in February 2022.
European nations are ramping up their assistance to Ukraine, and the attitude of the Trump Administration seems to have shifted in a more positive direction, with President Trump recently praising Zelenskyy on the margins at the recent NATO summit. Trump also promised Ukraine the license to produce American-made Patriot missiles that would help intercept Russian cruise and ballistic missiles that have caused serious loss of life and injury among Ukrainian civilians.
Fedorov’s dismissal may place all of this in jeopardy. The last thing Ukraine needs is a distraction from its focus on the battlefield.
One can only hope that Zelenskyy will respond the same way he did a year ago, reverse himself, and reinstate Fedorov as defense minister. He otherwise risks snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
